destined for it
by modern-wonder
Summary: on one fateful day, three lonely souls, found solace and friendship with each other. Now perceived as unwanted by their village or families, they will have to make decisions that will effect the world and themselves in ways nobody knew existed. watch as they become the best of the best to realize their dreams and what it means to truly be great.
1. Chapter 1

This was a little story for a dear friend of mine, who gave me some very sound advice: Get your damn ass in gear girl, and write me that story from a month ago like you said you would!

From modern-wonder to all of you-I own nothing, nada, zilch. If I did Naruto would be able to do more amazing techniques.

_lalala-_ thoughts

**Lalala-**jinchurikii thoughts/talking

**Destined for it**

Chapter one:

When we became friends!

The happy sounds of the academy courtyard made Naru wince.

It wouldn't have been so bad if she just didn't have to see nor hear the young academy children. It was a complete mess, parents dropping children off, older genin and chunin entering and exiting the large building. All of this wouldn't have been so bad if said people had been wearing less clashing colors and exhibiting less volume.

_Seriously, who wears black and gold socks with purple gloves. _Naru shook her head and glared into the empty space, effectively stopping her mental rant.

To an outsiders view, Naru would appear to be a smiling idiot. Just as she wanted, no- needed to appear as. The world was a cruel place, full of degradation and needled in self-doubt. She sighed as she felt her mask waver just ever so slightly. It had taken quite a bit of her time to build this particular façade and to find it slipping, even slightly, caused a healthy smidgen of fear to encirculate her very being.

Naru sighed and felt the need to mentally smack herself silly with all the undo sighing and moping. Gosh if she kept this up she would soon be competing with the Uchiha-teme.

Dressed in a upbeat outfit consisting of battered boy shorts and a white tee-shirt, Naru bravely stood off the swing she had commandeered for the sake of peace. _That did absolutely nothing. _Her murderess mind didn't get the memo apparently. She had rules that needed to be followed and acted on without the habit formed self loathing shown in the older minds of peace.

Naru could not fail, and knew in her own mind that she wasn't going too. But god she wanted a friend, someone like her, who didn't fit anywhere. Someone who would stand by her side and she theirs.

_Oh, who am I kidding. Like there is anyone left in this kami- forsaken village that would actually care about being my friend._

If Naru had actually not believed her own words, she would have knocked-on-wood.

Hyuuga Hinata was a shy girl by nature and because of it, caused her to develop a lack of confidence in herself and her abilities. It had nothing to do with her inability to fight or show support, yet it slowed down any progress with her family in making them see herself, rather than the weak little girl they ridiculed at their leisure.

Looking out at the well-lit and quite noisy courtyard, Hinata honestly wondered why her father-the clan head- wanted to send her here.

There was nothing physically wrong with the place, yet it seemed to ooze an aura that sent barely noticeable shivers down her spine. It felt disgusted and neglected and if Hinata had been just that much less of a budding strong young girl, she would have run home and hid under the bed.

Flashes of intricate clothing flowed around her as she sat by some flowers near the gate. Some were interesting to the eye, but lacked the flair of someone who wanted to be noticed and for that colors, such as brown and blacks, it felt more faded. Just like the academy where she would be attending.

Hinata had never felt so alone as she did right then.

In her self-loathing thought Hinata never seemed to realize the presence right behind her until it spoke in a slightly raspy-if not sarcastic-voice.

"hey, what the hell are you doing?"

Hinata turned and gasped.

Naru walked listlessly through the throngs of people who seemed uninspired to touch her. _Thank god for small miracles._

Being the social pariah did have some small graces, it had too, how else would anyone explain the mess that was her life. No one was energetic nor patient enough to deal with her violent mood swings and sarcastic countenance, this wouldn't have been so bad if she also didn't have larger chakra reserves and stamina then most seasoned jonin.

The lucky life of Uzumaki Naru-with new added sarcasm and unparallel wit. What a joke.

In the chronically depressing thoughts Naru barely had time to move out of the way before she tripped on some girl sitting next to some flower's.

Naru was angry that she didn't watch where she was going and more angry at herself then the girl next to her, yet that didn't stop Naru from putting her foot in her mouth.

"hey, what the hell are you doing?" Naru growled out at her and then immediately flinched at the gasp and look of sadness and shock from the girl.

_Way to go Naru, you can be such an ass at times._ mentally putting her thoughts on hold she kept up her thoughtful look.

The girl looked like she was having an internal war with her fight or flight response and flight was winning by a landslide. She was shaking like a leaf and seemed to be trying to burrow deeper into her light lavender jacket, which was coincidently the same color as her pupil less eyes.

Naru waited for the girl for what seemed like hours before a tiny sorry was uttered and then the girl promptly fainted. What a great way to get to know someone. You talk to them and then they become unconscious.

_Maybe I should go and get a sensei or a reliable adult, or I could walk away and forget I met her. Tough choice. I wonder what I'm going to choose? _Naru weighed her options and frowned. _Damn you morals._

Hinata woke up to a eye smarting blur of orange in her field of vision.

The color was not practical to being in a shinobi environment, where blacks and browns made up the color scale on more then many accounts. Yet the brightness of orange made the wearer seem bold and unique, bringing out a hidden strength in the happy color. It reminded Hinata of sun kissed fruits and fierce battles of the old days. Daring and beautiful, yet altogether dangerously misleading.

The monotony of the shinobi world weighs heavily on the mind and body, creating shinobi who were eccentric and out of line in some cases. This was mannerly brought out upon by those who didn't become shinobi and thus had no knowledge of the inner workings of the mind of someone who had killed more then they wrote their own name.

Hinata understood, the need for friendship and that was what the color orange seemed to represent-peace in battle, harmony in injustice, friendship with your enemy. All important yet judged by those who no nothing.

It was sad for the young konoichi-in-training, but a small price for the facts of many things she would face. Hinata wanted to flee, but where would she go? Nobody cared for her and nobody would care if she never came home.

Someone cleared their throat bringing Hinata to awareness. "ah, finally awake. You passed out and I got one of the sensei's to take us to the academy infirmary… I'm really sorry for scaring you and would like to wonder if you would like to start over… My name's Uzumaki Naru- future female Hokage !"

Hinata desperately tried to clear the last remnants of sleep from her eyes and nearly groaned when she couldn't._ Naru-san must think I'm useless too._ the sadness surrounding her must have been sensed because through the hazy expanse of her vision Hinata felt that she was being frowned upon.

Clearing her throat, Hinata hurried to let the other girl know who she was- she had the feeling of someone who didn't like to be ignored and dealt out punishment with a chakra infused fist and pair of brass balls.

"m-my name i-is Hyuuga Hinata, I-I want t-too chan-change my c-clan." Hinata had never felt so nervous, not even when she had to be near her father, Neji nor her younger sister. She nearly died when Naru spoke out at her.

"you need to work on that stutter Hinata, and call me Naru, no _san_ at all please. Just Naru." a glare was directed towards her, probably to stun her into submission.

Hinata gave a shaky smile and Naru gave a wide Cheshire grin.

Hinata felt happy as they talked about everything and nothing. Learning new things about each other such as-

Naru lived alone and was an orphan.

Hinata was considered weak and useless by her family,.

Naru loved ramen and gambling.

Hinata had a passion for cinnamon buns and pressing flowers.

Naru's favorite hobbies were gambling, pranking, gardening and cooking.

Hinata's favorite hobbies were pressing flowers, gardening and cooking, and creating new poems.

They both shared a unique pursuit of espionage, writing and making stories, and dango.

They quickly became best friends after that and talked and laughed while they waited for the nurse- or lazy hag as Naru called her-to arrive. That was the best forty minutes of their lives. But like all great things they had to end some time and both Hinata and her new friend understood this-it didn't make it easier for them but at least they didn't complain (much) out loud.

The walk was completely uneventful, but it gave them some more time together before the headed into the room that would soon become like a second home to them.

The old, plain door seemed to house a million and one reasons not to go through with this idea of becoming a shinobi and Naru had never truly wanted to leave at that moment then she had in all her life.

Sounds flitted behind the plain brown wood, a young but mature voice called for silence that seemed so forthcoming. Silence was all that was left behind as the nurse walked into the room, probably to talk with the chunin sensei inside-alerting them that their was two young students outside.

Naru felt herself becoming nervous and yet very excited. This is what she begged the Hokage for…the chance to become a shinobi and prove to everyone that she wasn't a monster. Beside her Hinata showed a resolute face brought on for the need to show that she was competent and not a failure. Naru felt proud and let it show for a second before she put on a blank, aggressive stare.

This was show time and god dammit she and Hinata were going to put on one hell of an act!

Umino Iruka had killed before as had his friends. It was a part of being a shinobi and although he would not like to admit it, it was one of the more stable aspects in the world of shadows. Though only in his twenty's, Iruka had become a successful chunin as had his partner Mizuki, both were not considered naturally high up in the brackets, but both had their own reasons for not moving on.

For Iruka that was the fact that he abhorred taking life. This was mainly due to the fact that he watched his parents die when the nine tails went mad and attacked.

Which now brought up a whole new set of problems.

The nurse stood a few steps away from him and whispered that the Hyuuga heiress and the Kyuubi brat were waiting outside. She seemed smug that she knew who the girls were and made Iruka internally wince at the blatant look of loathing and hatred she practically oozed. He rubbed his scar on his nose, it made him angry that the fox girl was going into his class. What if she got to the clan heirs and killed or corrupted them?

He felt the irrational need to ignore the problem and hoped it failed so he could get rid of it.

Dismissing the women, he called for silence again and walked to the door to beckon the two young girls into the room. He eyed them both shrewdly when the walked past him to the front of the class.

The Hyuuga heiress wore a light lavender jacket over a black tank top with dark blue shinobi pants. She wore the slandered blue shinobi sandals as well. She had her hair cropped in a small A-line with her bangs framing past her chin. All in all she looked well brought up and polite.

The other girl- the fox brat was a different matter.

Wearing a dark blue vest-like jacket over a bright orange tank top with matching arm gloves up to the elbow. She wore black shinobi pants with dark orange slashes on the right thigh. Her hair was a blood red color and put up in a million little braids that went down to her lower back. At the top of her head they were gathered into a tight ponytail. Her blue eyes showed nothing on what she was feeling making her that much more intimidating.

The whisker marks didn't help.

Iruka ignored the classes general looks of 'what the hell is this shit', and instead motioned for the two girls to give their names and gestured them to sit down when they were done.

Iruka sighed, why couldn't he have just stayed in the field. The others didn't have to deal with this chaos.

"please introduce yourselves for the class." Iruka looked for his partner, Mizuki and nearly let out of huff of irritation when he didn't see him. Smug bastard, leaving when he needed him the most.

Naru felt herself wanting to release a pent-up growl of annoyance.

The sensei had just motioned them in when he looked at her and Hinata as if the were gum on the ground. What right did he presume to have to be an ass towards them, her she could at least understand, but Hinata was a whole different story. He was seriously courting an ass kicking and Naru was more then willing to deliver.

Fingering the tight material of her gloves, Naru surveyed the entirety of the small class. And groaned inaudibly.

Over twenty civilian born children ogled a boy with moderate long-spiky black hair. His black eyes met hers and she watched as they flashed with their own annoyance. There were some other clan children in the class and Naru felt she could breathe just that much easier. Hopefully they weren't all stuck in fangirlism or had their heads so far up their asses they were blind to simple truths.

Naru felt a shift in the air next to her as Hinata went to stand by her. It was a nervous action, used to protect ones self, but it gave Naru a sense of exasperation and pride.

Exasperation because she knew Hinata could be strong to fight her own battles and Pride because she trusted Naru enough to protect her when she felt cornered.

The eyes of their new sensei filled her with an anger she desperately wanted to let out, but held back anyways for simple reasons: one, Neither she nor Hinata had enough training to fight off a chunin, let alone defeat him. Two, she knew he was just waiting for her to slip up so he could complain to the Hokage that both girls were in no way competent enough to become konoichi.

Knowing this Naru was disinclined to hold off on her impluses. She would not be the one to ruin both Hinatas and her dreams.

"please introduce yourselves for the class."

Naru saw the sensei motion for them to step up front and get on with the introductions so he could begin teaching. _well ain't that just great and fucking dandy, stupid sensei, why the hell should I be forced to put myself and Hinata through this hell born task._

Stepping up to the metaphorical batters plate, Naru took a cursory glance around. Her eyes half closed gave her a lazy projection. Like one of those large jungle cats that you just saw waking up from a nap, all lazy but ready to slice you a new one if you alerted them of you presence.

A strange aura began to fill the room, and everybody present nearly went into a comatose state, all except a certain Nara, he was already in one before the class had started.

Looking at her class Naru smirked, this was oh too easy.

Hinata watched as her first friend and who she could say with slight confidence was her best friend, sat exuding a dark yet powerful aura, and wondered why it wasn't effecting her.

She sighed as Naru gave a foxy smirk to the near fainting class, she sure chose her opposite to be her friend then brightened up as she realized she was truly glad for that fact. Hinata smiled shyly to some of the more awake girls as best as she knew how, and frowned in sadness as they glared back.

She gave a slight look of shock as Naru watched the exchange with narrowed eyes. A more sadistic look flew gently over her face, making the orange loving girl seem more at peace.

It was awe-inspirering and terrifying to watch, like looking into the personal mind of a being of higher power and understanding.

Just as quickly as it appeared it vanished making Hinata fell for just a few seconds that she imagined it.

Looking back at the crowed she saw Naru take in a breath of air before she spoke, trying to desperately keep her voice in a acceptable range and not yell at or kill some of the student environment.

"my name is Uzumaki Naru, I like pranks, ramen, and my best friend Hinata, so lay off or you deal with me if not herself, got it?" Growled out the calm voice of someone about to fly off the deep end. Hinata giggled internally as her fellow classmates trembled in unrestrained terror.

Walking over to Naru, Hinata gave a small bow to the class, before addressing herself. "m-my name i-is Hyuga Hinata-a, I-I like pr-pressing flower-rs and eating cinnamon-n bun-ns, I like m-my best friend Naru."

she felt uncomfortable around so many people and sad that she gave her first class impression that she was a weak stuttering fool.

Not really listening as Iruka-sensei told her to find a seat and sit, she walked limply over to a empty table in the back by a window and chose a seat for both her and Naru, and watched blankly as the class started up on its first lecture: how to become a surviving shinobi, and simply waited for something to do with being outside.

_This is going to be a long four years._

Beside her, Naru nodded her head along, as if she heard Hinatas thoughts and was mentally supporting and agreeing.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

It could have been worse!

"Three hours. Three fucking hours. Those teachers at that academy, oh they are so going to get it, mark my words Hinata, they will pay for this insolence, and the currency will be blood red…" Naru ranted and scorned the earth the academy had been blessed on.

She knew it seemed petty, but hey, she had too sit for three hours and listen to people complain on how to be a shinobi. It didn't help that whenever she wanted to contribute to the conversation she was ignored and was forced to occupy her own mind. It was slowly turning into the worst day of her week, and to top it all off, Hinata wasn't talking to her or anyone else for that matter and it was starting to worry Naru.

Both she and Hinata had been going to the academy for two months now and in all that time Hinata seemed to curl inside herself-metaphorically speaking, of course.

Naru sighed as she watched, said girl shift on the seat closest to the window. She looked awful to say the least, her once silky hair was flat and limp and her skin was no longer a pretty ivory, but rather a pasty white. Blank eyes no longer shined, but simply stared and watched, never truly taking in what they were seeing.

It was finally starting to piss Naru off.

Here she was ranting about academy and Hinata had yet to rebuke her for her crass language and poor tack. Hell, if Hinata didn't speak soon she was going to go insane and disembowel a fan girl or something. At least that would give her something to do.

She finally snapped.

"Hinata! For the love of Kami-sama and all who serve under him, I want you to talk and tell me what the hell is wrong with you. Please talk to me Hinata, we're friends and friends have to talk and hash things out. I've been here for you, but as things are going maybe we can't be friends for much longer until you tell me what the fuck is going on and why did it make you this way?" Naru yelled out at the lavender favored girl walking out in front of her. All Naru wanted was for her best friend to confide in her.

Nevertheless, as things were going maybe, they shouldn't be friends.

As soon as that thought entered her mind, Naru instantly dismissed it. She was going to keep this friendship alive and well, hell she was stubborn so maybe it would work in her favor. All she had to do was get Hinata to talk and then they would go from there.

Naru wasn't as dumb as most people thought, in fact she could be called a genius to some if only she showed of what she knew, granted it wasn't a lot as people refused to teach her and now they had started to include Hinata into their brand of bullshit.

So Naru finally understood when Hinata had started to turn towards her, she would only listen until the end. This wasn't her story to tell, and Naru knew Hinata was lost, and so very ready to get what ever was bothering her off her chest. And Naru knew she would be there for her friend every step of the way.

Besides what were friends for any ways.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0

Hinata felt as though her world was crumbling. She wanted to talk to Naru, but every time she tried the words became locked into her throat and refused to come out. She felt frustrated and a deeply acute sense of sadness. Her thoughts only amplified these as she wallowed in self-pity.

She wanted too scream out that her father was a bastard with an icicle for a heart or cry because she knew that she had nowhere to go or call home anymore.

Yep that's right, Hyuuga Hinata, was no longer a part of the clan Hyuuga nor was she their heiress. It was the day she came home from her first day of academy that her life took the plunge of the metaphorical cliff.

_Flash back, Hinata style:_

_It was the finale call of Iruka-sensei that woke Hinata up from the lovely nap, four hours and counting. She rubbed her eyes as Naru yawned, both chuckled a little as the other blearily looked around. The room was almost empty, save for a few students also waking up from their naps._

_Hinata walked out towards the entrance and looked around after getting a promise from Naru to meet up at the academy the next day. Parents and guardians lined the courtyard and none of them had the special look or eyes of the Hyuuga clan._

_Feeling slightly put out that her father hadn't come to see her, Hinata had walked home alone._

_Walking into her house, Hinata felt cautious and unsure. Something was telling her to get out of the house and run, but feeling curious she walked into the interior and stopped dead when she saw the clan elders and her father waiting for her._

_She had never liked the elders, always to pompous and rude for them to change their ways. Her father just plain scared her._

"_sit, Hinata! We have matters to discuss, matters that involve you." her father was brutally trying not to bark out the commands._

_Hinata had never sat down so fast._

_She waited and watched and then wished she had run when the opportunity presented itself._

_The elders smiled and said several words that chilled her already fragile heart. "Hyuuga Hinata, as from this moment on, you are no longer a member of the Hyuuga clan and will therefore be stripped of your title and removed from the clan premises. Though as is the way of the clan you would normally be branded with the 'cadged bird seal', but your father assured us that you would never be strong enough to fully utilize Byakugan and all its power."_

_She watched in a daze as the elders left to inform the clan. Not noticing her father move in front of her, but she did hear his voice." you have two months to collect your things and leave." and with that said he was gone as well._

_And Hinata finally cried._

_Flash back end!_

Turning towards her first and only friend. And cried into her arms. She told Naru everything and to her own credit Naru hugged her back and comforted her.

At the end of the emotional moment Naru voiced some concerns to her. "Hinata, two months are up today, do you have a place to stay and where are your things?"

Hinata looked into stormy blue eyes and sighed. No she hadn't found a place to stay nor live in yet and doubted she would. And all her stuff was in several scrolls in her pack.

"n-no I don't h-have a p-place t-to stay yet, and I-I have all o-of my belongings are in my p-pack." god Hinata hated her stutter, but she knew that she was slowly overcoming it, maybe it also helped that now Naru wouldn't judge her for it.

She somehow knew that this was a turning point for their friendship and that whatever happened now would either make or break that fragile trust.

She felt that it was time to see what they would become and this was the first step out of many that would begin their journey.

0-0-0-0-0

Naru didn't know what to feel when Hinata told her story.

Anger seemed the most prominent as well as concern. How could someone's own father and clan kick out a Girl as sweet and caring as Hinata was. She did feel concerned because Hinata had nowhere to stay.

And then an idea of the most epic proportions hit her like a chakra infused fist.

She smiled at her friend and said, "oi, Hinata, lets go talk to the Hokage, maybe he can help us with you problem?" Naru watched as Hinata thought it over and started to jog away towards the Hokage tower, comforted by the slap of sandals behind her.

Running up the stairs, taking two at a time, Naru and Hinata both burst into the room and looked into the calm face of the Sandaime Hokage.

Two chairs were place before his desk, symbolizing that he knew they had been coming to see him. The thought warmed their hearts to see that he wasn't going to kick them out.

The old Hokage watched as they sat down and Naru, not one for wasting time, launched straight into their tale and outlined the problems both were having.

"so you see, Hinata needs a place to live and my apartment is much too small for me, let alone someone else too. So I was wondering if you could help us out, I have no clue on what to do hear." Naru felt a little comforted when the 'old man', as she called him nodded and started to concentrate.

He snapped his eyes back on the two girls and both jumped at that sudden move, but neither did show any fear and met his eyes fully. And both were rewarded a smile and a soft chuckle.

Lighting his pipe Naru could see he was getting ready to start business and she nudged Hinata to get ready.

In an aged voice, the Hokage began to speak. "Naru and Hinata, both of you did the right thing in coming to me for help, this problem is quite complicated. Hmm, I would suggest that you both get a new place to stay, but knowing how little you both have I am willing to help you out, but you both need to do something in return okay."

Both girls looked at each other and realized they really didn't have a choice and turned back to nod at the aged leader. Who smiled and beckoned them a little closer.

"good, now what I'm going to do is give you both a nice house. Its inside of an old compound that has been abandoned for many years, this will have all the things you both need to train and survive, so don't misuse it. You both will get a copy of the key and will be keyed into the gate to let you both in." the Hokage looked at them like them both with the eyes of someone who was talking at a adult level.

Naru nodded at Hinata and being the most talkative out of the two decided to ask what the Hokage wanted in exchange for this rather nice gift. "Hokage-sama, what exactly do you get out of this deal. And further more how are we going to keep up with the necessities it will take to keep us both living there?"

"that is where the deal is going to benefit me and you both. Now girls you both started to attend the academy around two months ago, correct?", at seeing both their nods he continued, "then here is what I want both of you to do. I want both of you to graduate early, the end of this year actually and join in on anbu and T&I training okay."

Naru was stunned, the old man wanted her and Hinata to train among the elites of their village. Turning in her seat, Naru found that Hinata had the same look in her eyes. _why would the Hokage want us to graduate early and for what purpose does this benefit anyone?_

Clearing her throat, Naru asked him that very question.

"you will learn in due time, Naru, Hinata. Now how about we go and take a look at you new home."

With that the Hokage performed a transport justu and both girls ended up at a large gate surrounded by pure black granite walls that were so high both girls couldn't even see what was over them. The gate looked to be rusty and slightly mangled, but still in working condition, even if just.

The Hokage beckoned the two girls over and Naru could see he had a ornate pin with weird writing over it. He told them that the pin was used to prick their fingers hard enough to draw blood. He then showed them that there was a hand sign used for opening the gate.

Naru grabbed the pin first and brought it down on her thumb until she drew about four drops worth of the scarlet liquid and then handed it over to Hinata, who did the same thing. Both gave each other a stare trying to reassure themselves and made the rat hand sign.

The old gate made a horrible screeching sound. It was like the sound you heard an animal make in its last moment of life. The rebound of the noise had probably reached the Hokage tower by now.

Finally after several seconds the sound died off, and the gate started to lower into the ground. If Naru had been a little more alert she would have been deeply impressed, but she was busy trying to stop her ears from bleeding.

The Hokage walked in through the gate first, telling them that the gate would always let them in now as long as the made the rat sign.

The first thing that both girls saw was a hefty sum of buildings that were scattered around the compound, giving it the air of peaceful un-organization. All the buildings were made with a pretty dark wood and granite. They had a traditional look to them with paper doors and roofs that curls outward at the ends.

The largest building was one story tall and was styled like all the others. The Hokage explained that that was where they were going to live and was the main house of the compound.

Several moments later the Hokage left, saying that he needed to finish some paper work and that when they got settled in, to visit him to know more about what they were going to do in the coming months.

Naru looked up at the building and smiled. This was where she and Hinata would be living and felt happy knowing that she would have a best friend staying with her and that she would not have to return to that run-down apartment she had always called home.

Walking up to the front door, which was made of a heavy wood-mahogany, that's what the Hokage had called it, Naru found that it opened very easily and was equipped with some very high grade locks and bolts.

The inside was even better then the outside though.

The entry way had a place where you could put shoes and exchange them for a soft slipper or walk barefoot. Connecting the living room was a hallway with a washi paper door. Depicting a red crane standing in a tranquil pond filled with reeds.

The living room had two couches and was colored a reddish-brown, large vases, most likely made of jade, guarded the entrance to the room. Looking around, Naru noticed that there was no TV, but the walls had a few book shelves. A small stone coffee table was right between the two couches and strategically placed in a way that it showed a conversation atmosphere.

A small waterfall, built into the wall, led into a small pool of water and held some plump looking koi fish. There were three in all.

Another washi door, led into a kitchen with several high grade cook ware and cutlery. Dutiful tea cups and tea pots in porcelain and brass work were set on a shelve. Through a window, Naru could see part of the backyard and noticed that there was two gardens-one for herbs and the other for vegetables. A small orchard was filled with trees ready to blossom.

Turning left Naru saw a wood door with the kanji for pantry on it and saw that there was already food in it. All was in non-perishable goods but that was okay-and there was even ramen. Naru smiled at the gesture.

Walking out through a washi door with a picturing of a peaceful forest on it, and came to a long hallway, with several doors in it. All were closed and yet there was a feeling that they were open for all to see. Walking up to one at random Naru chose one and gasped when she saw what it was.

A library and it was filled with books and scrolls and large comfy chairs. Several lamps were in the room and there was even a fireplace. The room was huge and took up all the walls with book shelves and scroll cubbies. All the scrolls were in a bamboo case to protect them. Large murals covered the walls depicting peaceful places and strange symbols. A large coffee table had been placed next to the chairs. A layer of dust covered everything and needed to be cleaned for fear of mold and decay.

Walking out and closing the door Naru found a bathroom with conjoining doors on either end. There was no bathtub and no shower. A medicine cabinet hung over the stone sink. Small murals covered the walls here too, but these depicted large jungle cats sleeping on large mossy branches or tigers moving through the jungle floor.

Through one of the doors Naru found a moderate supply of toilet paper and other such necessities that she could think of.

The other door led to small basement like place that Naru instantly knew was a dojo. Tatami mats covered the floors and felt soft under her feet. A deep pool of water was at the farthest wall from the door and threw of a shimmering blue light. One wall was covered in weapon racks-all were filled. The other held a covered closet like place and was filled with outfit racks. This place was covered with a strange glass like door with the same strange symbols drawn all over it.

Once leaving the dojo, Naru found a small bath house ready to be used, a study filled with two desks and supplies, a room with blankets, sheets and several washers and dryers.

But the best thing Naru found was the rooms she and Hinata would be staying in. both the same size and had queen sized beds, a desk each, more book shelves and scroll cubbies, walk-in closets and large fluffy chairs.

Oh she could get used to living here and she was sure Hinata would too.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata listened to Naru ramble on about what she had seen when she toured the house, and from her stories Hinata instantly fell in love with the obviously old home. She felt herself nodding when Naru suggested the by some paint so they could spruce up the place.

She and Naru had been walking away from the compound and were currently heading to Naru's apartment so she could collect her things. Both were planning on moving in tonight and that caused them to nearly jog across the village.

Hinata had never been allowed to play outside of the Hyuuga compound and was surprisingly enjoying her new found freedom.

After collecting Naru's things and telling her off for having a slightly messy house, they were on their way home. The sky was darkening and small stars had started to appear when the finally made it back to the compound and into the house. Both went to the newly dubbed laundry room and chose some blankets and sheets- orange for Naru and lavender for Hinata, and got ready for bed.

They both agreed that since academy was out for the weekend, they would start cleaning the house and compound and then train before they visited the Hokage.

With that both girls went to bed and smiled as they realized they were home.

The next day!

Hinata woke to the sounds of a bird whistling from outside her window and smiled. Today was the first day in her getting stronger along with Naru.

Getting dressed in a tee-shirt and black shinobi pants along with her trade mark lavender jacket Hinata ran to the kitchen and was surprised to see Naru already up and cooking breakfast-blueberry waffles and bacon, with green tea with honey to wash it all down with.

After breakfast both sat down and outlined a plan- Hinata was going to clean out all the houses and general up keep from inside, while Naru volunteered to work on the stuff from outside. After that was done both she and Naru would make some lunch and then train in the dojo for a few hours. After that the would go and talk with the Hokage on what the need to do to pass.

The work was hard but in its own way fulfilling. The day seemed to fly on invisible wings and soon Naru had come in to make some ramen for lunch. They ate in silence both lost in thoughts, and before Hinata knew it they were both heading to the dojo.

Hinata started to teach Naru meditation and in return Hinata was taught how to throw a solid punch. They read a few scrolls on certain justu and worked on the academy style kata and the three justu-kawarimi, henge, and the bushin. With this Hinata learned she could do all of them but they were weak and lacked a strong backing, while Naru could not do the bushin to save her life. It came out looking dead or very sickly.

They both resolved to get this checked out by the Hokage and soon left to talk with him.

0-0-0-0-0

Sarutobi Hirozun had been Hokage for a long, long time and as such was granted certain perks. He was rewarded though with paper work, and most of it civilian paper work too-complaints, and offers, and oh look more complaints.

He could do all of it without really looking at it and turned his thoughts on two small academy students that were currently making their way to the tower too see him.

Now being old, Hirozun was kind of hoping Naru would graduate soon and take over his work. That would be a nice return to retirement gift. But first she had to graduate and Hirozun was smart enough to know that if she was there for all four years, she would make friends but she would not graduate.

The Hyuuga girl was loyal to Naru and vise versa which made it easier to allow them to live together. But even he was disturbed that one of the clans of Konoha would stoop so low.

He shook his head and sighed. All shinobi had their coping mechanisms, some drink, some are perverted and others such as himself became best friends with tobacco. He could already see what those girls' copes would be. Hinata would write and garden, these were calming things. Naru would be bold and she would have the penchant for gambling.

Both were two sides to the same coin, one would be the attack while the other defended. This made him feel every year to his name. he would make sure they passed. they only had seven more months before they would be genin, and in the shinobi world that was as much time for several lifetimes.

He watched as the girls outlined the plan with him, Hinata would need to become stronger with her Kata and techniques, while Naru just needed to have the Bushin jutsu down. Already knowing Naru would never complete the original jutsu, he handed her a different one: Kage bushin.

She thanked him and both Hinata and Naru left him to his work, that already had doubled since he last looked at it.

If only they had stayed and helped him. He then chuckled, they would learn and got to configuration numbers. Oh the wok of a Kage was never done.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Let us start chapter three

By the way thanks for reviewing for everyone who did, I personally feel that it helps me become a better writer when I know people are reading and responding to my stories. So please review, rant or PM me.

In addition, sorry for such a late update, work and school just do not mix with writing.

Chapter 3:

What are we gonna do, Hinata!

Naru walked away from the Hokage's office in a daze.

She pretended that Hinata wasn't sending her worried glances, or those shinobi they passed weren't giving secret glances at them.

She just wanted to go back home and paint her room the burnt orange color Hinata had picked for her, eat some ramen and then go to bed. She was six years old, sue her if they wanted a grown up young women to parade for those secret glances. She was going home and snuggling in a fuzzy blanket for two weeks.

Naru knew she was being childish, but she just couldn't help it. Everything felt like it was moving too fast and her natural reaction was to bolt and hide and see if the problem went away.

But she knew she couldn't do that.

Both she and Hinata had promised the Hokage and if they wanted a peaceful coexistence with their shinobi careers and the man that made them possible, they had to follow through on their end.

Naru wanted too scream or cry, but instead she pulled her head up from wherever it had buried itself in the ass of despair and walked forward with slow and deliberate steps, nearly silent and purposeful. The beginnings of a crescent moon was forming over head in a burst of black, blue and silver fire.

Naru turned until she was facing her best friend, and smiled her best 'trust me, could something this adorable be a maniac in disguise' smile. And couldn't help but cause her ivory colored friend to become paste white.

"oi, Hinata we should go out for dinner tonight, what do you say. Maybe we could get ramen or sushi or ramen. Sounds good, no?"

She watched as Hinata thought the proposal over, and died a little in side when Hinata suggested they go out for some dango instead.

Naru grumbled about best friends who wanted her to die or starve. She smiled a fraction of an inch when she heard Hinata giggling beside her and considered it a win in her favor. In truth, Naru worried about Hinata. She didn't show any signs of being sad over being banished from her clan and the lack of that sadness was a due cause for concern on Naru's end.

They made some small talk as both she and Hinata walked the few blocks too the dango shop, and were content.

The shop in Naru's eyes was interesting. There were several tables in the middle of the room, some of them occupied by civilian and shinobi, and several booths lining the walls, again some occupied. The place had bare brown walls and some cracks lined them, proof that shinobi ate here.

The smells of the sticky dumplings filled the air, enticing both Naru and Hinata into the overly warm shop.

Looking around, Naru saw a empty table and fast walked towards it, but bumped into someone who placed their hand one the back of one chair just as she placed her hand on the table top. Looking up she immediately realized that she couldn't take this person on, but then again when had that stopped her.

"oi, old lady move away this is our table, I got here first." bringing herself up to her full height-only about five foot one, and glared in what she hoped would be a convincing manor. The 'old lady', did not think it was a smart move.

She glared right back and even snarled a little as she said, "stupid move brat, what do you mean ya got here first, I'm a konoichi under the rule of the Sandaime Hokage and deserve some respect, and by the way your glares suck, what are they teaching kids now days."

The lady had dark purple hair in a spiky pony-tail. Her leaf headband was tied off on her forehead and from the looks of it , it had seen battle.

She was wearing a tan, long trench coat over a mesh body suit that went down to her thighs and a dark orange mini skirt with blue belt attached. Her shinobi sandals had shin guards attached to them. Narrowed brown eyes glared at them, silently telling them to back the fuck up before someone got hurt.

Naru had a sinking suspicion that this lady was the one to crack the walls of the shop.

"Listen lady, me and my friend here are just coming in for some dango and as such I was the one to get to this table first. You don't like, leave because we ain't moving from here. Come on Hinata." looking around, Naru retrieved her slightly petrified friend and sat her down in one of the vacant chairs.

The lady hadn't moved and from the looks of it she wasn't going to. Naru felt slightly guilty about this, but hey she had some pride and backbone, and that meant no one walked over Uzumaki Naru and got away from it. She could only be lucky that it had only been a verbal conflict and hadn't escalated into a full out brawl.

A twinge hit her conscience and Naru gritted her teeth before giving in.

When the waiter bent down to hear the order, Naru whispered what she wanted and gave him the required money.

Looking up she watched as the lady took in big whiffs of the sweet dumplings that passed by and cracked, "you can sit with us ya know. I ain't that sadistic to let someone starve because their to stubborn to know when to give up." she spoke in a nicer tone.

The lady looked hesitant, but a small encouraging nod from Hinata and the calm tone of herself seemed to end the matter and the lady sat down across the table until they were in a loose triangle formation.

A awkward staring match seemed to commence between the three of them. The food arriving seemed as though a small repent from earlier, because everyone's mood seemed lighter and they all actually had small pleasant talks, well Naru and the lady- now known to them as Anko, talked and Hinata just nodded or gave a few stuttered sentences here and there.

They got to know their guest well by the end of the night, all in all it went off without a hitch. Something everyone was grateful for.

0-0-0-0-0

Miterashi Anko was a tokubesu jonin of Konoha, and took immense pride in the fact that she was one of the elites.

Her job was quite simple, go to work with Ibiki and then maybe go on a few missions, then come home and go out for dango until the owners closed.

Well that was supposed to be how things went.

She had just finished a long A-rank mission and had to give her report to the Hokage, but he was in a meeting causing her to wait longer. To long in her opinion, but whatever. After giving her report, she had traveled by rooftop till she got to the dango shop and low and behold, one table was still empty. Rushing to get there she bumped into some people and noticed too late that someone else's hand was on the table top. She turned to look and there was a sight she didn't see everyday.

The Kyuubi brat and the abandoned Hyuuga girl. _why are they here? I thought they would be laying low for a while. _

Anko wasn't the nicest women by the trade, and she had a lot of questionable morals, but one thing she wasn't, was beater of children especially children who had been abandoned.

But that loud mouthed girl in orange was questioning that thin line of control. When it broke, Anko silently wished customers out of hitting range. Before it did though, that girl silently walked over too her friend and sat her down and both ordered some food.

Silently willing her stomach not to growl at the lack of decent food in her, Anko stared longingly out at all that wonderful dango and fought the urge to sigh.

She felt her muscles clench and unclench in their attempt at reminding her she needed to sit down soon, her body had been pushed hard as of late and needed proper nourishment and rest before went gallivanting off on another taxing mission.

Luck came in the form of orange and lavender girls. The offer to sit after she had been nearly told off confused but gladdened her. She had been in awkward places before but having a three way staring match between two six year old girls and herself was topping that list.

Several hours later, Anko was making her way home, full of laughter and dango. It was odd that one like herself who had more blood on their hands then in their body, had taken so well to academy students. Anko chuckled, she had been seriously impressed with Naru's ability to stand up for herself and her friend Hinata, who-thanks to her family- had been more than comatose until she was inclined into the conversation.

Smiling, Anko realized she wanted too see these girls become great, and she had the most perfect plan, now all she needed to do was talk to the Hokage about it.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata walked alongside her friend and felt like she wanted to laugh if only it was worth the energy.

Naru's clothes were slightly off her body and her hair was slightly frizzy. Not that Hinata was judging because, she looked like that too.

A hour meal had taken four hours and they had stayed until closing time eating dango and talking with Anko. Black ringed eyes stared at the door to the academy. They had been going to the academy for five months now and it had been seeing Anko for random dinners now for three months. It would be nice if Naru and Anko would just eat and leave, not eat then eat some more and then talk and then eat again. Boy could those two pack it.

The Academy sensei's were not in the room and neither were the students, something that Hinata felt apprehensive about, and by the sly look that flashed through Naru's eyes, she concluded that something was wrong.

Turning to look at her friend, Naru beat her to the punch. "well, look here. I guess me and you must have been early today, nay Hinata-chan." her smile reached her eyes and the tone she used was of that of girl who found out that she was finally here early.

But it was the single code word that both had devised late into the night-Naru never called Hinata any other name then her given one, and since no one ever wanted to know them, those who wanted to attack would find that they were not helpless.

Hinata knowing her cue, easily replied. "ye-a-ah, its-s nice to-o not ha-have to rush." she even gave a small shaky laugh to make it more authentic.

A floor board creaked, a breeze ruffled the clothes just a bit. Every single sense that the girls possessed was screaming at them to run. _what the hell._

A sudden urge to move hit her hard and Hinata fell into a loose academy stance. She knew she had no chance in hell with beating up whatever was after them, but taking a leaf out of Naru's book, she couldn't care less.

A shuriken flew by her head, imbedding itself into the wall, and Hinata figured that Naru was fighting off someone else. She couldn't turn to look nor could she see if Naru was doing okay. This was a fight for life and both were together but so very hopelessly alone.

Justu flew like nobodies business, and both girls worked in tandem. Moves were thought up on the spot and plans were hatched in the midst of the carnage.

What had once started out as a fight for life in their class room, soon spread out into the hallways and then throughout the whole academy. Windows shattered and walls crumbled. The building itself felt like it was groaning under the force of which they all fought. Sweat fell into both girls' eyes and yet they battled on, so much so that Hinata felt like she was free-falling and the ground was only getting closer.

She had so far counted about six adversaries, all over chunin level and above. They weren't holding back, so by that logic they couldn't either.

Minutes passed and then hours, by the time when some of the fighting had lulled into surprise attacks, Hinata and Naru took stock of their bumps and bruises and gashes.

Naru had many large gashes that oozed blood all over her torso and back, evidence of her fighting many people at once. Her left pinky was bent at a inconvenient angle and Hinata didn't know whether it was broken or dislocated. She had a large-ish hole in her right leg on the upper thigh , dangerously close to the artery.

She herself hadn't escaped with out so much as a bump. She knew she had several cracked ribs and maybe a broken one. Her right eye felt swollen and there was a constant pounding above the heated flesh. She had a few gashes on her legs and hands.

She closed her one good eye, and prayed for medical attention. If it didn't come soon, Hinata knew both wouldn't make it to see the morning.

She watched as Naru took her watch, both stared out at the beautiful harvest moon, the color of orange clay. It gave off a sinister but at the same time comfortable feeling. Both didn't get much sleep, Hinata was almost a hundred percent sure that they had concussions.

The feeling that they were being watched never left. It had once started out as a horrible sensation but as time went on it had started to become almost welcome, like an old friend that never truly left, you just seemed to forget they were there.

Some ration bars were held in their bags, and although both girls were ravenous, they thought it best to conserve. The hard nut and fruit bars were as hard and appealing as cardboard, and the taste was worse. But it carried everything a shinobi would need to keep up strength and energy.

Dark black rings surrounded both Naru and Hinata's eyes, and they felt as if the had been dropped of the Hokage monument and rolled around in a barrel full of nails. Everything hurt, the pain was so intense and both Hinata and Naru felt like they were just waiting for insanity to strike, like a cobra in the undergrowth.

On unsteady feet, Naru held Hinata's hand as she led them down to the lower levels of the academy, something was drawing them and they were helpless to pull away.

Sunlight hit Hinata's sensitive eyes, and she resisted the urge to scream in pain, by the twisted look on her friends face, she knew Naru felt the same way.

They walked through the streets away from the academy, pain lancing up their bodies, Hinata added torn muscles to the ever growing list of injuries, they had not been expecting to be attacked and both Hinata and Naru had paid the price for it.

They walked along deserted alleyways, and abandoned back roads all the way to the hospital, through blurry vision clouding her one good eye, heavily swollen and as black as a thunder cloud. A odd smell wafted around them sweat soaked body and the smell of infected wound-mostly contributed to the still gaping hole in Naru's leg, though long having stopped bleeding was still open and tuning a dark purple color.

The walk had also opened up some wounds and blood rolled off them, the pain couldn't have become more unbearable, and yet Hinata felt they had achieved something when they walked away from their injuries.

The large, pristine building was eerily silent and the peace seemed fabricated. But that wasn't what stopped both girls in their tracks.

The Hokage, in all his robbed glory stood in front of both girls and loose ring of masked and cloaked men and women surrounded them. Two people stepped forward and picked up the girls, noticing the grimaces of pain and haze that rolled around them.

Hinata felt herself being picked up, and the pain nearly caused her to pass out, but she prevailed. A masked man looked down at her, his bear mask showed a snarling façade, blue geometric designs covered the sides.

He had dark eyes and a black cloth on his head, probably to hide the color of his hair.

Another man was holding Naru, his tiger mask was a flash of reds and black. His hair was a black color and you could just barely see an outline of pale green eyes staring at her friend.

The Hokage paused and turned to face the crowd of anbu and their two small charges. " we have seen two small leaves off the big tree of Konoha, grow outward and have been tested in the way that all anbu hopefuls are, Crane, what is you verdict?" a tall, slender man stepped forward, his mask was covered in designs and the beak of his animal protruded out, an air of superiority flowed out of him, he was the leader of anbu, the commander and chief.

He had watched those two young girls and smiled just barely under his mask, they had been put through hell and it showed, but they had fought bravely and earned the whole respect of the entire anbu corps. They had fought the girls testing them and making sure they would be ready for what was to come.

He sighed and stood at a lazy attention. " they have passed all of my expectations and would be welcome additions to our family, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage nodded, he would let them train with anbu until it was time for the genin exam, were they would take it and pass. Then they would become anbu members fully. The test wasn't for people who wanted to become a anbu member, it was for people who were graduating into their place in the anbu ranks for good.

He looked at the two unconscious girls and smiled, they looked absolutely like they had been dragged through hell and back several times. He remembered when he had gone through that same test and knew that the girls needed sleep and a full five meals.

Setting them into the hospital beds, he quietly waited for the girls to wake up. Their guards leaned against the wall and everyone became silent and waited.

0-0-0-0-0

Naru had never been in so much pain before, the light was boring into her skull and her right leg felt like it was on absolute fire. _I hope the other guy is worse off._ feeling the need to snort but realizing it would just make her feel worse, Naru settled for listening.

Voices flittered in and out of her conscious and those she did catch seemed out of tune with the balance of the world. Everything hurt. It was like someone had beat the flying shit out of her, then threw her down a couple hundred flight of stairs, then proceeded to laugh at her broken form.

She felt herself being picked up and cradled into someone's chest, if she had been more conscious, Naru would have already kneed the person where the sun don't shine and then flipped them the bird as she hobbled away. She didn't consider herself lucky that they survived, in fact she was conflicted and a little dubious about that whole fight. All she and Hinata had done was fight with standard academy taijutsu and planning. The not too metaphorical 'what the fuck' seemed well deserved at the moment.

She settled more into the warm chest and felt all things slip away from her as blissful knockout blackness slowly enveloped her. She'd find out what the hell was going on tomorrow.

0-0-0-0-0

Nar…en…Hinat…be…awake…oon…

Naru gritted her teeth as those damned voice fragments hit her ears. She could only make out a few words and the rest was a garbled mess of nouns and crap. Granted she did feel better and less like she was a reanimated corpse, but that still didn't account for the throbbing in her leg.

It was like it had its own beat to it.

Concentrating hard, Naru realized that the voices were speaking to her now. She also realized that she had been staring at those who were talking and only now just realized it.

"huh, hi." Naru rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment. Several pairs of eyes seemed to zoom in on her and she felt claustrophobic.

"Naru…how do you feel. You've been out for several days, we all were staring to get worried." a beautiful purple haired women in very revealing clothes walked closer until she was directly next to the bed Naru occupied. Her comfortable scent of dango and metal polish, eased her mind and allowed Naru to crack a small grin in return.

The women grinned back in complement, before her face turned hard and serious. " four days, both you and Hinata have been through some surgery and unfortunately the odds weren't really in your guys' favor. The doctors were all assholes in my opinion, they didn't want to waste time operating on both of you girls, so the Hokage roughed them up verbally."

Naru coughed and then winced, and dearly wished for some water. Something to soothe her damaged throat.

As if someone read her thoughts, a glass of water appeared. Naru gave a small smile in gratitude at the anbu member who had fetched it for her. He whore a tiger mask and even though she couldn't see his face, she had the striking notion that he was smiling back.

"thanks tiger-san." Naru drank down the kami gifted water and surveyed the faces of those who were present. The Hokage, Anko, two anbu: one had a bear mask and the other a crane mask, and tiger-san. There were no doctors and for that Naru was grateful, doctors had never liked her and to actually get one to heal her was harder than pulling teeth from a chicken.

Looking over at the bed next to hers, Naru identified the short haircut of her best friend Hinata, and winced in sympathy.

Hinata had long scratches on her face, and several bandages on her forehead. Her right eye was heavy and a dark greenish-brown color, indicating that she had a very black eye that was healing up. A swath of white bandages covered her torso up to her neck.

Naru smiled as she saw Hinata, glad that the had both made it out of that hell hole, and were both alive to tell the tale.

The hokage stepped forward and gently told everyone to leave. He smiled as he walked away, gently ordering her to get some more rest. Something she did with out hesitation, smiling in her sleep.

0-0-0-0-0

Gentle talking is what awoke Hinata from her coma like sleep. Though nowhere near as bad as before, she still felt the after affects of having a really bad concussion. Not wanting to open her eyes but knowing she had to, Hinata forced herself to sit up and open her eyes.

She saw the Hokage talking with Naru, Anko eating some dango, which currently reminded her of her rumbling stomach, and several anbu leaning against the wall and observing.

Naru was the first to see her up and boy did she get a welcome. "oi, Hinata good morning-well evening. How do you feel are you okay, do you still hurt, want some dinner. Look Anko brought us some dango as a get well present-hey stop eating it you brought it for us…" Hinata smiled as Naru got in a mock fight over the get well dango.

The Hokage, chuckling, stepped forward and motioned for silence. He had an aura that said he needed everyone's complete attention.

"I am glad to see both you and Naru are okay. You have been asleep now for six days and Naru for four and a half. Several corrective surgeries and both of you are here and well." he paused before he continued, "now would be the time for questions, if anyone has any?"

Naru stared up at the Hokage and stated her question, "Hokage-sama, why were me and Hinata attacked."

Hinata nodded that this was something that she too was wondering, _why were we attacked, and why was the battle staged at the academy._

The old Hokage sighed, but he couldn't help but feel that both of these girls would truly change the world. He knew he was seeing part of that change and dearly wished he would live to see the final product. Ah but the fates were never kind, especially to those who lived a warriors life.

Before he go to speak however, Crane came up to him and waited. At his commanding nod, Carne began to speak. "Naru and Hinata, a pleasure to meet our youngest initiates in the anbu family." seeing their confused glances, he continued. "that attack was for a very defined purpose you see, we at anbu usually take those who have become chunin and were quite disgruntled when the Hokage suggested that you become one of us. Well I was concerned and decided to stage a test for the both of you, a sort of battle royal. You both have taken on some of my best anbu operatives, a worthy endeavor. That test is usually only given to those who have been training with anbu for a while."

Both Hinata and Naru were stunned, instead of a random attack, they had been tested and just informed that they passed.

The Hokage cleared his throat and said, " now girls, this does not mean you are exempt from the genin exam, in fact you still have a few months before you both are going to truly join anbu and start taking missions with them. Granted, I have arranged for the both of you to start training at anbu headquarters as soon as you are both fit for duty."

Hinata felt glad that she had passed, and while Naru was hugging the Hokage in a death grip, she wondered as to what her family would think of her passing the anbu exam before the genin one.

She shook her head and forced herself to think of something different and smiled to Naru who had finished crushing the old Hokage.

Things were really starting to look up for both girls and in a few days they would start training in the anbu regime.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

Who are you?

Naru woke up to a face nearly pressed into her own. She was not inclined to admit it, and if anyone would ask her, they would get a blatant denial that she had screamed like a little girl and maybe head butted the young boy above her.

A few minutes, several colorful swear words on both ends, and two bruised foreheads later and Naru was able to talk things out.

"who the hell are you. Don't ya know not to scare a girl into a early heart attack, man I could kill you, stupid fool." Naru was practically foaming at the mouth. Her thoughts running along the lines of all the creative ways to hide a dead body. She was livid, how dare a man come and wake her up and piss her off.

"yeah, well maybe a konoichi- in -training shouldn't sleep so deep. You might just not get scared." the current enemy to Naru stated in a indignant tone, sarcasm bleeding out of his diction.

Oh if Naru was pissed before, she was nearly feral now. How dare this scrap of a boy, barely older then her and Hinata, tell her she was a bad konoichi. Oh she was defiantly going to commit a homicide now, and she would bury him in an unmarked grave and dance on top of his dirt covered body…dear Kami, she had passed the realm of psychotic and had hit bat shit crazy.

Breathing deeply in through her nose in a futile attempt to calm down her warrior blood-which was demanding an informal sacrifice, and forcefully started a half-assed conversation. "my names Uzumaki Naru, and my companion there is Hyuuga Hinata. Would you do the honor of telling me you name."

The boy gave a strange look, but in the end apparently decided not to argue with the fiery young girl. "names Rock Lee, I am a young shinobi-in-training."

In a slightly saner form of mind, Naru struck up a conversation with the boy. She became fascinated with Lee and asked as many questions as she could. She learned a lot about him:

Lee liked to train and wanted to fight using only Taijustu-he had been born with under developed chakra coils.

He liked curry and rice and was not found of reading novels but he did like reading training scrolls. He also was stuck as their guest in the hospital because he had endured a attack just like Naru and Hinata. She found this strange and resolved to talk with the Hokage when they were cleared.

Lee also liked the color green and was found of turtles. He said he was an orphan and that some uptight assholes had burned out his apartment. Luckily, he had moved out all his family things years ago and kept them in some storage scrolls in a lock box with the Hokage.

Naru watched as Lee told her a bit about his life. He tried so desperately to put up a strong façade, but in all reality nobody was better at reading people then her. Lee was in slight shock and seemed to be going stir crazy with worry about his future.

A plan started to form in Naru's mind then. It would have to be cleared with the Hokage first, but she was confident enough in her abilities to sway him for her side.

Looking over at the still sleeping Hinata, Naru gestured for Lee to sleep. Both were exhausted, Lee more so then Naru. It was plain to see that Lee had gone through the same anbu induction as both girls, but why and for what reason. How did the Hokage get another person join the ranks before they had graduated the academy. She felt that she knew the reason but was loathe to make the accusation until the details were hashed out for all to see.

Realizing that they had been talking for the better part of the day, Naru turned away from her sleeping companions. The moon was waning and she turned her thoughts into a extension of the beams that graced the floor and walls of the moderate room. How she had wished for a family and here was one finally being offered to her all she had to do was buck up and take it.

She followed a gentle swell of her friends cheek and traced a bushy eyebrow on her newest friend. In such a short amount of time, both people had latched onto her heart like leeches and refused to let go. Naru didn't know if this was a good or bad thing.

Laying down, Naru felt her thoughts empty like water from a busted bucket and sleep overcame her at last.

0-0-0-0-0

A week and three days is what it took for the three new friends to heal fully. As soon as the paperwork was signed, a small envoy of anbu suddenly swarmed out of nowhere, locking the stunned children in a barricade and set off for the tower of the Hokage.

Lee, fast as he was felt stunned silly when a group of seven anbu came out of nowhere to take them to the Hokage. He felt that somehow this was a great honor, yet all he could think of was how cool it would be to take up one of those masks.

Looking out at his two and only friends, Lee felt happiness fill him. He now had precious people to protect and if anyone thought him incapable of being there for them, he would kick there asses until they sought his forgiveness.

He ruminated on what this surprise was that Naru had failed to share with either him nor Hinata. Through the long, curved hallways he tried to mentally read the red-haired girls thoughts. He felt he was getting close when visions of frogs and dancing ramen bowls entered his mind, how he longed to get that image out of his head.

They were allowed to enter through a door, and sitting there was the third Hokage, one of the wisest men in Konoha, he stared at the three young children with crow feet edged eyes. They sparkled with a warmth the was near palpable and comforting as it was intimidating. Lee felt himself wanting to gulp, but forced the body reaction to a still. There was business to discuss.

0-0-0-0-0

The aged man, lit his pipe and walked around to face the three little ones standing before him. Though young, he had found out about their lives and looked even deeper to assess their skills and quirks.

Naru- the one who would thrive in the ancient world of espionage and seals. She would be a definite gambler and would learn more in the underworld of shinobi grace.

Hinata-definitely the healer of the group, she had never learned much in the ways of her ex-clan and would need a new purpose, she would have love for reading as her coping mechanism. Something gentle like her, something calming.

Lee-he would be the heavy Taijustu specialist, someone for the brunt of the fighting and heavy attacks. He would train as his method because he needs something tangible to hold himself to reality.

The Hokage sighed as he looked them over. All were special in their own ways and would make one of the greatest teams to ever come out of Konoha. He felt remorse at his own failures. He now knew that the time to let the baby birds flew from the nest was at hand, they would be facing the world head on and this would either make or break them.

"you have been called here for a very special reason. As of now, the three of you are officially anbu members and will don the cloak, armor, and mask of one of your station. You will be conducted through the ceremony and vows at sundown tonight." he paused and silently chuckled at the three's blatant looks of awe, before continuing. " in other news, Naru has come to me with a problem and a proposed solution. Lee, Naru has stationed an invitation to live at the compound with her and Hinata…bearing if you want to of course."

He watched as shock wore to happiness to sadness to finally a tear marked smile as Lee glomped his two friends and agreed. He motion to some anbu and ordered them to retrieve the boys' family things and stopped to order the two girls to help with getting him situated.

The Hokage glanced up at a clock and motion to the children that they were dismissed, not before telling them that they had to report to the anbu HG at sundown for their ceremony.

He felt sad, knowing that he was forcing these young children to grow up faster then intended. But he was a leader to a nation, thus he was required to make decisions that many would deem cruel. This was what being a leader was all about, you were the one to make the tough choices, the one to take the fall for better or worse. Sadly for many, there was a lot that was for worse.

Now, looking at the awe-struck children, all from different walks of life, yet all from the same experiences, the aged Hokage felt the first waves of peace at his vast knowledge, for he knew they would face hell down, conquer it, and bend it to their wills. These were the living embodiments to the will of fire. This comforted him.

0-0-0-0-0

Lee walked out of the storage room, his arms shaking from the weight of the box in which he carried his sealing scrolls. Some were big and weighed a lot, and others barely were noticeable. The box was made out of cherry wood and was quite bulky. He remembered watching his father build this box, when he was little. He had loved seeing his father working on small home projects when he was not out on missions. Now though he couldn't even conjure up a mental picture of his male parent. He felt saddened at this, but let it go. He had a new family now, both Naru and Hinata were allowing him to live with them and they were all going to be in anbu together.

He had memorized the way to the Blue compound-as the girls had named it, and was walking from the Hokage tower towards it. He should have asked how far away it was. Seriously he was far away from any of the other clan compounds and was situated closer to the forest then anywhere else. Lee sighed, he should have just insisted he go with the girls. They had left for some things for the compound and him specifically. They asked him what his favorite colors were and left him afterwards when they got their answer.

Now, far away from human civilization, he was face to face with a dark marbled wall. He looked at the dark, forbidding gate and gulped. "well Lee, one small step in triumph and your going good." haring chuckles behind him, he turned and gave a mock glare at his friends.

He watched as the walked him through the steps of getting the gate to recognize him, and showed him the sign that would unlock the massive gate.

Lee, could honestly say that the beautiful blue stone and wood work gave the traditional compound a peaceful flare. he followed as the girls led him up to the largest house-he quickly deduced that this was the main house, and walked in through the door when gestured.

Taking off his shinobi sandals and walking around barefoot, he admired the artwork on the fragile sliding doors. Still carrying his box of scrolls, the small party walked into the living room. It certainly looked and felt lived in. large potted plants framed walls and more books had been added onto some shelves. A few pictures of Naru and Hinata lined the walls-in a few he saw a strange purple haired lady with a grin on her face.

Hinata smiled and welcomed him to the groups new home. "Lee, wh-why don't you-u put your things away. Naru could-d you show him his room while I get dinn-er ready." he gave a toothy smile towards her, she was not stuttering as much and only did so a few times. Seeing Naru nod in agreement, he followed her.

They passed a few rooms-Naru's and Hinata's were marked, and finally found his across from theirs. It was a large room, had several windows and a large pine wood bed against the wall. The room was white and blinding but was free of dust or clutter. Naru walked in front of him and handed him a bag. " this is some green paint we got for you, it has several shades-a dark green a bright lime and a bluish green. We also have some sheets and blankets in dark green too in there." though happy at what he got for his room, Naru's next words blew him away. "there is a door in the hallway marked as Dojo, its where you can train if you want, the room is located in the basement of this place and has weapons and training scrolls for our uses. If you want, after breakfast, me and Hinata go down to train before we go out to shop for things for the house or compound, train for our individual talents or we go to the academy."

He nodded in ascent. They had their own Dojo, and now he could use it too. He was kinda miffed about having to go back to the academy, but it was required to achieve shinobi status and to stay in anbu.

Looking at a clock in the hall way, Lee realized that Naru was walking away and calling over her shoulder that dinner was in a few hours. Once she was gone, he walked back into his new and got out some of the paints, he was going to work until dinner.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata worked solidly at her task, she was making some leek and potato stuffed mushroom caps with some tempura on the side. She felt at peace when it was finished-cooking always had that effect on her, just like reading. She chewed her bottom lip in frustration, though she hadn't shown it, she was terrified of joining anbu, of donning the mask and becoming a shadow for the village and the Hokage.

Sighing she walked out into the dinning room- a small low table with large cushions for sitting and many potted plants adorned the room. At the far wall, the sliding doors were open showing their small training ground and Naru, practicing her academy kata. She set the table as she watched one of her best friends come in and announce that she was going to wash up before she ate. Chuckling Hinata watched her go.

She may have not become totally confident, and she knew it would take a long time before that happened, but being here with her new friends took the weight off of being depressed because her family didn't want her.

With the food done, she walked to Lee's room and grinned at his closed door- it depicted a pond with turtles swimming under the surface, everything was in varying shades of blues and greens with smidgeons of red mixed in. looking across the hall at her door, she traced the paining of a mouse napping within a hollowed out log in a sunlight bathed glen. Looking next to hers was Naru's door and its painting of a toad in mid jump, long tongue extended outwards at a reddish dragonfly.

Hinata walked back towards Lee's room. All the doors, minus the one main one, were all sliding paper doors. Though fragile, they represented a peaceful resolution and their paintings kept the occupants from being spied on.

Hinata walked up to Lee's door and knocked on the wall adjacent to it. Hearing a small grunt on the other side, she opened the door. Lee was on his bed, circular eyes closed and breathing quiet. He opened his eyes and watched as the young girl walked closer to him marveling at his color scheme. Hinata meanwhile was smiling, Lee had redone his room in a forest green, he had even made up his bed with the dark green spread. Not in the mood for conversation, Hinata informed her friend of dinner and told him to wash up before eating.

Walking back down the hallways toward the dinning room, Hinata felt lost in her thoughts. She remembered all the times her family had ridiculed her, she felt the hateful stares of the academy girls, and she knew she was weak, as of now though she felt fire course through her as she vowed to become the strongest she could be. Nodding her head in satisfaction, Hinata walked onward to a path hidden until now.

0-0-0-0-0

Naru blinked water from her eyes. Both she and Hinata had retired to the bathroom to wash their hands and faces in preparation of their anbu recognition. This was the night that they all would don the mask and cloak, this was the night they would be inducted to walk through the shadows. Naru shivered in excitement, this was something bigger then herself, yet she felt no fear. Looking in the mirror, she saw a slightly round face tanned from birth, marred only by three whisker-like marks on each cheek. Deep blue eyes narrowed as cooper red hair moved across her forehead. She felt strong and brave, she imagined her warrior blood singing in apprehension for this night.

Done with their washing, the girls exited the room and walked to the main door. Lee waited for them, and at her nod, they all made their way to the Hokage's tower. It wasn't a long walk, seeing as they ran most of it, training for hours on end does that to someone. Walking up the long hallways toward the office that was their ending point, the took in pure, unbroken silence. The Hokage greeted them, ceremonial robes closed and presented with the ever present hat adorning his gray head.

Naru waited with bated breath, soon she would be considered a true adult in the eyes of anyone privy to her identity, this ceremony was one of the most important in the village and thus was always conducted in secret. Once you were given you gear, mask and cloak-the anbu commander presented you with a codename.

The Hokage made a hand sign, next thing the three of them knew was that they were in a huge building in a large circular room. There was no noise and it was very dark, Naru felt her body go on guard. She could see nothing but she knew she was not alone.

Then the lights came on.

0-0-0-0-0

Crane glanced around the room. There was the whole of anbu in a large ringed circle around five young initiates. Two of them were in their early twenties and had been training within anbu for a while. Then there was the three children that had been straight tested from anbu combatants. He had pondered for hours upon hours for the codenames and identities for these additions to the family of shadows.

Looking up to the Hokage and received a nod in turn, he started the ceremony.

"I am Crane, leader of anbu. I am the master of this ceremony and thus I will be the one to take away your names and give you one benefiting to your rank." the room stayed silent as he beckoned a anbu member over-in his hand was a tray with five porcelain masks, and continued. "Takshii Ran- now known as Boar." he handed a light blue Boar mask over to the young man. "Yukushan Etsu- now known as Ape." he handed a yellow ape mask over to the young women. "Uzumaki Naru- now known as Toad." he handed a orange Toad mask to the girl and smiled behind his mask. "Hyuuga Hinata-now known as Mouse." he gave a light gray and lavender mask to the pale eyed girl. "Rock Lee- now known as Turtle." he gave the young boy a nod and cleared his throat. "these are now anbu and thus are committed to serving the Hokage and their village at the cost of their lives and will start that creed tonight as adults in our world!"

Crane watched as the new anbu members placed the masks on their faces and tied the red cords at the back. A crème colored cloak was placed over them and a small tanto was placed in their hands. Several anbu moved through the small group and presented the anbu uniform to the new ones thus concluding the ceremony and allowing the rest of anbu to go back and do missions or patrol.

He nodded at the Hokage and walked back towards his office, intent on finishing some of his paperwork.

0-0-0-0-0

Lee felt power settle over him as he donned the new uniform. They were informed that they would only start missions when they had finished the academy-reminding them that they had class the next morning. Looking at himself in a mirror thankfully provided in the locker room of the anbu HQ. His bowl cut and huge eyebrows had a habit of freaking people out not to mention he had a obsession with the color green.

He still felt the warm blush on his face when he realized that he would be changing in front of his friends because anbu locker rooms were co-ed. It made him more embarrassed still when he realized that meant showering also. Knowing that he would become used to it made him keep the objections in his civil mouth.

Selecting a locker with Naru and Hinata they placed some soaps and towels and other such necessities into them. Satisfied that this was done, they were given a tour-they were shown the restrooms, training rooms, and cafeteria. A small forge and Amory made weapons and amour for the anbu. A meeting room and classroom were placed in the lower confines of the HQ. Once finished they were released to go home. Lee felt as exhausted as Naru and Hinata looked, not even bathing they just went to sleep as soon as they got home, setting their alarms for class tomorrow.

It had felt like he had just gotten to sleep when a blaring alarm woke up Lee. He contemplated going back to sleep but decided against it as he smelt breakfast. Walking toward the closet he pulled out a Chinese type top and some black shinobi pants and a slight over shirt.

Practically running over Naru as she was exiting the bathroom, he took his time looking her over and seeing what she was wearing for class.

Naru had a long orange trench coat with a black mesh tank top underneath. Long black and orange gloves covered her arms until the elbow and were fingerless. She wore standard black shinobi pants and tapped them off at the ankles. On her feet she was wearing her black combat sandals. Her red hair was cut in a A-line fashion.

She looked geared up to go to war and when he raised and eyebrow at her, she just grinned and walked away motioning for him to follow her. He opened up the door to the dining room and both sat down as Hinata was placing the last food item on the low table. Saying a quick thank you the all dove into the food with the savagery of a pack of hellhounds. To say the least, Lee felt much better after eating and even helped Naru clean up afterwards. They only had a few days before graduation and the all needed to be ready and aware for that day fast approaching.

Quickly locking the front door, Lee ran after the girls, quietly panting at the blatant need to, live life fast. Ducking down side streets, through alleyways, and across abandoned courtyards got the three friends to the academy with several minutes to spare. Walking along deserted hallways, Lee walked away from the girls and promised to wait for them after classes. He started toward a solid sliding door and opened it, coming face to face with a person he could now say he despised- Hyuuga Neji . The boy was a pompous fool who believed in all things fate and destiny. The boy currently was glaring at him, what right did that failure have in coming to class after missing a week and a half of it. Lee as if hearing the thoughts revolving in his comrades brain glared at him, mentally snarling-something many would deem impossible for the extremely kind and caring boy, but then again he only showed parts of himself to people who had earned that right. _so this is the boy. He really doesn't look like Hinata, to say that this is her cousin seems almost insulting. How could a clan just get rid of someone who was family. I don't understand it and Naru told me to talk to Hinata, but, every time someone says something about clan Hyuuga she starts to withdraw herself. Neji, how could your people go through with this. _Lee narrowed his thoughts down, it wasn't fair to Hinata if he attacked her cousin out of spite, but in the end he knew it would speed up a slow process.

Giving a curt nod, Lee walked into the room and chose a seat farthest from the arrogant Hyuuga. Looking out the window, he watched as students filled up into the room and chose their seats. No one sat by him, and though it did sting, his energy levels didn't let him care. Their plain looking sensei walked into the room, scanning the crowed of excited students, he allowed his eyes to land on Lee, giving a indifferent look, he called out names and started the lesson, which was on what the graduation test would cover. Already knowing what was going on and how little it applied to him, Lee took out some note paper and started drawing a new mural design for his room.

A few hours passed and Lee finally put away his supplies, intent on leaving the class and heading back to his friends. At lunch they had met briefly and discussed plans for some grocery shopping and a trip to the Hokage. All he had to do was not be late, unfortunately for Lee, fate is a unhappy bitch and it came in the form of another unhappy bitch: Kana Ishade, number one harpy four his class and a fan girl. He could barely contain his shudder, fan girls were a scary race and quick to anger. He gave a large, toothy smile and nearly yelled her ear off. "HI KANA-KUN." mentally looking for a radical escape route.

Ishade glared, and had to slowly count to ten in her head before she could talk normally. "Lee why the hell were you glaring at Neji-kun." Lee felt sick at the blatant knowledge that whatever he did or said, it was going to piss of the girl in front of him. So in a brief moment of fear and anger he executed a powerful leap over the still screaming girl and took off down the hallway and out into the courtyard before anyone was the wiser. Finding the two blurs of lavender and orange, he grabbed both his friends and sped down the street, determined to escape the banshee fan girl. Stopping in front of a stand with a sale for grapes he allowed himself to calm down and then started to sweat bullets as he realized he was being bombarded with the KI of the two girls who hadn't taken very well to their impromptu kidnapping.

He grinned and then prayed for the end to be swift.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata sighed as Lee walked away. Naru just grinned at her and motioned for her to follow to their class. They prayed for a miracle and were burned before karma. Uchiha Sasuke, ever since both girls had joined the academy, he was there. He never approached them, just sat there and watched them. To Hinata it was scary and dangerous. To Naru, it was a annoyance that needed a swift kick where the sun didn't shine and a smack to the face. He was watching them now and both were silently cursing their luck. Walking to the back of the room and sitting in their unofficial seats, they were actually surprised to see Sasuke standing in front of their table.

Hinata wanted to ignore him an hope he left, unfortunately for her Naru thought differently. "oi, Sasuke-teme, what the fuck do you want. If your looking for you fan club, they ain't here so beat it before I beat you!" Hinata stared in silent awe of her friend, this was strength and courage she desperately needed.

Sasuke sneered at the orange monstrosity that graced these hallowed halls. He knew he was wrong for becoming infatuated, but how could he not when two exceedingly beautiful girls were left in the tender care of the academy. He defiantly couldn't wait to ask them both to become his wives. He liked the silent nature of the Hyuuga and the fiery temperament of the Uzumaki. He felt that in no time they would begin to see him in the same light that he them and they would come willingly into his arms.

He smirked arrogantly and replied in a flippant voice to the girl. "girls should know their place in the world and leave the aggression to the men. Ha, girl-listen and listen well. You will come to me and maybe if your good I'll allow you the comfort of living as the first wife of the Uchiha clan…truly I am lenient when your behavior was less than cra…" he never got the last word in.

Hinata had never seen her friend so mad. Naru was practically foaming at the mouth and pulling at the reigns. In fact Hinata was surprised that it took that long just to finally shut the egotistical asshole up. And boy, Naru got the job done. A high kick to the face and a gut buster punch when he finally came down again. Mentally grinning, Hinata watched as the Uchiha was put into his place. Ten minutes later of Naru's persuasive tactics and the class was just about to begin, Sasuke being somewhat smart, left before the fan girls showed up and decided to take care of his hurts themselves-which inevitable would lead to some cooing then groping of things that hadn't been injured.

Wincing in sympathy, Hinata congratulated her friend for her victory and got ready for the day as Naru got caught up on some sleep. It wasn't that Hinata hated people, no she quite liked them and wanted friends, but people like the Uchiha drove her towards the cliff named homicide. She silently wondered how her other friend Lee was doing, she knew he was in a class with her older cousin Neji-san and that he was…difficult to handle at times. Sighing, she turned her attention back to the lesson and nearly groaned as she realized she already knew what was going on.

Now with nothing to do, Hinata just stared at the clock, silently counting down the minutes until she and her friends were released into the wild once more. Twenty minutes later and she was ready to scream, albeit in a calm and sincere way, none the less she wanted out. Sasuke had already came back and was throwing nasty glares at both her and Naru, Naru more so.

With nothing to do and a jittery feeling through her body, Hinata poked Naru awake, eager to see what she would do. She didn't disappoint.

0-0-0-0-0

Bright blue eyes shot open, while a yawn broke through the contours of her face. Sharp white teeth glinted in the meager light of the room. Looking around, Naru felt her self being awoken. She knew it was Hinata who had poked her awake, not that she minded but it would be nice to just sleep. Looking over at her friend, she felt herself thrown for a loop. Hinata was surrounded in a weird bluish-white glow, thinking she still had the sleep in her eyes, Naru rubbed them and was seriously started to get annoyed when the glow didn't disappear.

"Hinata why are you glowing?" Naru almost wanted to retract her question when she was hit by a blast of surprise. Even more worrying was that it wasn't hers. The class was staring at the two girls, both of whom were desperately wishing for the floor to swallow them up.

Looking down, Naru gave a mumbled sorry and waited for the class to resume before looking over at her friend. The glow was gone. Thoroughly annoyed at the thought that somebody was playing a trick on her, Naru looked back to the front of the class and waited for the bell.

About an hour later both girls had yet to say anything to each other and the silence was awkward at best. In the end, it didn't matter if anyone had said something, because a green blur had erupted from the front doors of the academy and was currently grabbing both her and Hinata and practically flying down several streets before being dumped in front of one the market stalls. Boy was she pissed. Already having a bad day and now Lee had the gall to kidnap them. What was the world coming to.

After giving Lee a high kick to the chest, they all set out for groceries. Hinata was looking at fruits and vegetables, Lee got the spices and some cookbooks and some breads from the baker, and she was currently heading to the butcher and the seafood stall.

A big white building with baby blue trim blocked Naru's path. Through the window she could see a rich array of meats from pork to pheasant and everything in between. Looking down at her list she groaned. Why did Hinata need so much stuff, maybe if she had traded with Lee this wouldn't have happened to her. Sighing in what she hoped showed her displeasure of this project-she walked through the door and up to the counter. Nobody was in the building it seemed, and try as she might, Naru could not control the small shiver of uncertainty. Looking around for something that would get anyone's attention, she very nearly gave a whoop for joy when she noticed a small silver bell. wasting no time, she smashed her fist down on it and returned to waiting patiently.

Just about to leave, a voice stopped her. "well hello there miss, anything ya need today?" turning around Naru analyzed the man in front of her. He was big and had large muscles, evident that he worked at chopping up heavy meats throughout the day. What was left of his hair was white and thin, framing the sides of his head but not the top. He had very nice straight teeth, white and clean with a chip in one of them. He was wearing a black tee-shirt and grey sweat pants. A smudged white apron hung over his toned chest. If she had to guess, she would say his age was about fifty-seven maybe more. That alone earned some respect from her, though nowhere near the Hokage's age, he was impressive in the least and old and wise at the most. He had a square like face with dark brown eyes and slightly crooked nose.

She grinned and rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment- a habit she had picked up from Lee. "Yeah, old man give me three pounds of the chicken breast, one pound of the duck breast and one pound of the pork cubes please." she grinned even more when the man laughed heartily in reply before he went to the back and got to work.

Hearing the rhythmic thud of a cleaver in the back, Naru let her eyes wander the room. Several seats lined the back of the walls and little magazine slots held the aforementioned item on the sides. A few pictures lined the walls-one of the old man when he was younger and a girl, the old man holding a baby, the first opening of the shop… it was charming to see a bit of someone's personal life at their job. Shaking her head she noticed the old man wrapping the meats in separate white paper with the items name on front. Paying for the meat she left for the seafood stall. Sad dark brown eyes followed her out.

after her excursions in the market, Naru walked towards the park. It was near the market place and a convenient place to meet up with her friends after the shopping. Naru didn't have to wait long.

Hinata was the first one to arrive, several bags of fruits and vegetables weighed her arms down. Naru noticed she had gotten some seeds to. Looking through the bags of each other to make sure they had everything, both were pleased with the others choices.

Naru smiled at Hinata's choice of food. Red apples, oranges, grapes, some peaches and mangos. For the vegetables she had gotten leeks, celery stalks, onions, some beets, a few carrots and many others. Both girls sat down on a bench content to soak up the afternoon sun while waiting for their other friend. Ten minutes later and Lee finally showed up. Once Naru smacked the back of his head, they all walked back home, intending to eat and then get dressed for training.

Dinner was tense as all parties concentrated on the flaws of the day.

0-0-0-0-0

Lee got dressed in the locker room at anbu HQ. Not looking as Naru and Hinata got dressed beside him. Fastening the last latch on his chest armor, he turned to the full wall length mirror and saw how the uniform fit. It was a full length body suit with white ankle bandages and black combat sandals-Naru just wore hers. A large purplish chest and back armor covered the torso. Lee had placed his Turtle mask on the side of his head until the left the locker room. His round, black eyes took in the many other anbu who were getting ready for patrol, missions and training tonight. He felt Naru come up behind him fixing his weapons pouch and his mask.

Looking back at his friends all he saw to identify them was the unique colors of their hair. Nodding the all got ready for tonight's training. Being that they were all young and ill taught by the academy, they would be taught by commander Crane himself.

Lee led the way to room 137, a small training room. Crane was already there, sitting on the floor in a meditative pose. Getting in a straight line, the three bowed and then waited for instruction. Seeing the lesson about to begin they stayed quiet.

Crane nodded and jumped to the topic of chakra. "welcome, as of now you will call me Crane-sensei or sir. As you know you have all been placed in anbu by the right of out Hokage, but that does not mean you are ready for missions or even patrol. When you graduate in the coming days you all will be provided a special rank and mentor in which you will be trained in you specific talents. Until that time though we have only several days to get you to chunin rank. Any questions?"

Lee felt that combined shock of several academy students including himself. How the hell were they going to get to chunin rank in a few days. It wasn't possible, it was insane. "Crane-sensei, how are you going to get us to chunin rank in a few days. It took us forever to get to this level in the academy."

Crane laughed and caused identical tick marks to appear on their faces. Why was he laughing?

"ha, listen up. You are going to pass that lukewarm genin test and you are going to train until you wish for death, but hey that's all good and well, now lets train in chakra control." oh Lee was going to hurt him in sparing.

Hinata raised her hand. "Crane-sensei, how are we going to train our chakra?" Crane raised a hand to his chin in forethought and gave a sinister grin, oh he was going to enjoy this.

"We are going to work on tree-climbing, and then after that we will work on tree-fighting." seeing their blank faces he nodded. "lets go newbie's, we are wasting time." Crane had to fight the urge to laugh again when he heard Naru mumble that it was dark outside and there was no time to waste. Oh academy students.

Lee held on to Naru and Hinata as they walked out into the woods. Crane seemed adamant about going somewhere and he didn't even use a light to see around him, saying the moon and stars gave off more than enough light to see by. Lee called bullshit and Naru agreed. Suddenly they ran into a hard muscled body and toppled over each other, shinobi skills not coming in handy at the moment.

Looking around Lee noticed they were in a clearing with one huge pine tree in the middle. It had to be higher then fifty metes high and it was spaced so if one fell he would land on the hard forest floor. Wincing at the thought, Lee walked forward towards his sensei. "Crane-sensei, what happens now?"

0-0-0-0-0

Crane watched as the new recruits fell in a unflattering heap. Ah, so young, they reminded him of his genin team. A sad smile flittered across his face, he would do everything in his power to make sure they survived and didn't follow the same fate as his friends. "well Turtle, we are going to climb this tree with out the use of your hands. You must apply chakra to the bottoms of your feet-one of the hardest places to cultivate chakra, once you have gathered an amount climb up this pine. Be careful though you must maintain a balance-too little and you'll fall, too much and you'll be ricocheted off the tree and have to start over." he watched them take everything in and raised his hand. " Mouse, you first. Toad your next, Turtle bring up the rear. You all have three hours each to complete this before we move on…ready begin."

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata ran forward, gaining momentum and giving herself time to cultivate the necessary chakra at her feet. She ran several steps up the tree, feeling the rough bark under her sandals. Four steps, six steps. She made her first mistake. By getting excited she fluxuated her chakra causing herself to give too much energy making her fly off the tree. Thinking quickly she flipped in the air and landed hard on her feet, wincing at the harsh bark of her sensei telling her to do it again. She analyzed her predicament, and tried again and again and again, always getting higher up until she hit the highest branch. Looking down she smiled at her friends as they cheered her on. Calmly walking down, she felt the even chakra coating the bottom of her feet and smiled. _you see father, I can be strong. Not that you will ever know that now, its to late for you to take me back, I have a new family now-my best friends. We will get stronger then any shinobi and we will accomplish the future together._ looking back up at the tree she had taken two hours and thirteen minutes to overcome, all Hinata felt was satisfaction. She one of the dead lasts in the academy, one who was never taken seriously had done what many would deem impossible. And she was proud of it.

0-0-0-0-0

Naru watched as Hinata got higher and higher up the huge pine. Though proud of her friend, she was also confused. The strange glow was back and it was surrounding both Lee, Crane-sensei, and Hinata. She looked at lee and saw his glow was a gold color, he was beaming up a thousand watt smile at their friend. Her sensei had a pure white colored glow. She couldn't tell what he was thinking, but if she had to guess on body language, she would say he was proud and happy. Hinata had a coldish gray colored glow-very different from the one she had in class. Sneaking a peek at her hands she wanted to yell, her hands had no colorful glow they looked like regular hands. _is something wrong with me, am I ill why, why don't I glow like the others. All right Naru, get a grip_. _Go talk with the Hokage later. Maybe he knows what the hell is going on._

Looking back up from her musing, Naru saw Hinata land wobbly on the ground. "Hey-y Naru, i-its you turn." Hinata was pushing the tips of her fingers together-a clear sign that she was nervous. Naru smiled comfortingly at her, not that she could see it, and nodded. Walking forward, she felt Lee pat her on the back in good luck.

Breathing in deeply, Naru slowly gathered her chakra into her feet. It felt odd, like sharp knives were being forced out of the soles of her skin. It stung but it didn't hurt. Bending down in a low stance, she charged. A million and one emotions flew through her mind and Naru felt her chakra waver. She was already six feet up and slightly panicked. _oh kami. _she wasn't scared of heights and really didn't want to be, but she quickly realized that being up really high in a tree with wavering chakra and no place to hold onto causes one to feel pretty uncertain. Naru held down on her chakra with a will she never knew she had.

She looked into herself and noticed what looked like two streams of colored light: one deep blue and spiraling and the other dark red and thrashing. To her it looked like the two lights were battling it out and it seemed the blue one was losing. She felt desperate, she didn't like the feel of the red light, it felt dark and addictive and heavy. In a moment of pure, unadulterated fear one will do things that may seem rash and uncouth. So Naru gabbed the end of the red light and held on, it burned her, making Naru feel like her skin was boiling off, but she didn't scream and she didn't let go. What was also weird was that she could "feel" emotions coming off the red light-anger, uncertainty, and rage. Thinking up a plan she threw the red light over to the side. It spun there, trying to right itself. Not wasting anytime, Naru made a glasslike tubing system. She left a opening and stood in front of it. Waiting for the red light to attack, she didn't have to wait long. Upon righting itself, the red light transformed into a large red colored fox and snarling, charged at her. The thundering of the foxes claws hitting the ground and the beating of her own heart was all Naru knew, she stood her ground as the red colored beast came at her and at the last moment possible, Naru leapt out of the way.

The Red light turned fox didn't have time to turn his course and collided with the opening to the tubing system. Moving quickly before the light could escape, Naru made a odd hand sign and slammed her open palm against the opening to the tube. A odd looking spiral made out of black ink spread out, kanji moved around the tube system closing it off but allowing it to still be used and circulate in her body. Tired and sweating but filled with a humming energy, she did the same thing with the blue light but she didn't seal it up, she just made the wall thicker and held by black ink colored brackets. Moving the two separate tubes around each other she made them both spiral downwards toward the center of her being. With that done, Naru let the exhaustion course through her. She felt that she had completed something great and with the finality of the thoughts in her mind, she closed her eyes and let the calm darkness take her away.

Warm darkness, like heavy, comforting velvet laid around her in a protective blanket. "Naru." she didn't want to listen. "Naru." she rolled over, she felt the need to leave, but she couldn't. she started to panic. "Naru, listen to me. You got to wake up." that was Lee, why was Lee here. He shouldn't be here. "Naru wak-ke u-up please." Hinata, she was here too. A bright red light started to surround her. She yelled, "Lee, Hinata, run away. Get out of here." she faced the malevolent glow with narrowed eyes and a snarl painted on her lips. "get the hell away from my friends! You have no right to hurt them!" a hideous laughter nearly slapped her and she growled out at the glow. A booming voice bounced around the darkness tinged red. "**Foolish mortal, what can you possible do to stop me. You may have succeeded in sealing my chakra for your own use, but I assure you, you will come to regret your meddling choice. Beware the dark of passing out, little Uzumaki, I wont be so lenient next time we meet and I plan on making you pay." **with that the glow shaped itself into the form of a giant red eye and she felt herself pushed into the realm of the awake. "**until we meet again, Naru." **the voice gave a mental laugh as she growled at the last shreds of red light and then she was gone. She fascinated him, to be so young and yet so talented. He would enjoy the next battle they fought. Closing his red eyes he laid in his cage and thought of the young girl.

Naru coughed as she woke up, air oh, glorious air. Her blue eyes cut to the faces of those peering down at her. Lee and Hinata hid poorly concealed sighs of relief, while her sensei just nodded at her. "what happened?" she couldn't remember anything after the small, but tense battle in her body. Her sensei gave a sigh before launching into a short explanation. "when you started to climb the tree, we saw you move faster and faster. Before long you had started too fall and we moved to catch you but as you were falling you emitted a wave of chakra and you flipped around and caught the side of the tree with your left foot. You hung there for a few seconds and then you started to run the rest of the way up the tree, completing the assignment. Then you made it to the ground before you passed out." Naru didn't know what to feel. On one hand she was excited that she had completed the training early but on the other hand she was sad that her battle had kept her from enjoying the experience. "did Lee complete the assignment, sensei?" he nodded and she felt even worse. She had missed a cornerstone moment in her friends life. How horrible could she be. Lee patted her shoulder and smiled in encouragement.

"touching moment really, But we should be heading back now… Good job at completing the assignment all of you. Nodding in assent they all walked back to Hq for must needed showers and their actual clothes.

Walking into her room that night, Naru looked out her window at the moon. Her mind in turmoil. _who was that voice? Was that red light a different type of chakra and was the blue light her own chakra. Why do I have two different types, is that normal. I didn't know chakra can talk back or manifest itself in different forms._ She rubbed the bridge between her eyes and walked to her bed, falling on top of her covers. Sleep didn't come easy fro her that night nor would it ever again.

0-0-0-0-0

Training had slowly killed the three young adults. They had all been training non-stop for the past week and now today was Friday, the day of the genin test. Lee watched as Naru picked at her breakfast, dark circles hung under her eyes and she seemed weighed down by something. Hinata had told him that Naru was having trouble sleeping, he wanted to help but he had no idea how. they all wore their new outfits Lee wore a green jumpsuit that a man named Gai-sensei had given to him, Hinata wore a light purple jacket over black shinobi pants and her blue shinobi sandals. A black tee-shirt was under her closed jacket. Naru wore her usual outfit. Lee led them to the academy, and they entered their respective classrooms. Alone, Lee walked into his full classroom and chose a seat at the very back content to wait for his test to begin.

The sensei handed out tests, each was standard for what they had covered over the year. The only difference between his test and everyone else's was the fact that he was doing this to graduate early. The written test was a cake walk and he scored a 84% a passable grade. They waited for everyone to finish before they were herded outside to the sparring ring for the Taijustu portion of the exam. They were all paired into twos and were told to use academy style kata to defeat their opponent. Lee was paired with a student he didn't know and easily wiped the floor with him. Moving to sit in the shade , he thought about how well Hinata and Naru were doing. They both had to be on the written test by now or the gengestu portion. Hearing the call for everyone to go inside, he looked across the field and saw his friends exit to start their Taijustu exam. Giving them a thumbs up, the smiled and waved before the closing doors separated him from them. Sighing he walked with the rest of the class back. In the gengestu exam he got a 67%, in the physical he passed with a clean bill of health. Now he was waiting to be called back into the room where the justu was to be conducted, for him he would be explaining why he could not do justu and then he would pass. "Rock Lee."

Rolling his shoulders he stood in front of the academy sensei's and awaited the verdict. He wasn't alone, the Hokage had showed up. He had motioned outside and mouthed Naru and Hinata's names. He nodded in affirmative. "well Rock Lee, we would like to present you with a haita-ate in honor of graduating to genin. Congratulations." he bowed to both the Hokage and the sensei's and calmly walked out. He got two steps before he was glomped by Naru and Hinata, they yelled and laughed while showing each other their new forehead protectors. Naru had chosen a orange colored ribbon and Hinata a dark purple. His was a red colored ribbon. He saw Anko turn a corner and grinned at her-they had been introduced several days ago and both got along just fine. It was time for a celebration and the Hokage and Crane-sensei had arranged for it all.

Walking to the Hokage tower they let their new forehead protectors shine in the bright sun. the looks they received were a mixture of shock, disdain and anger. They didn't care.

The party lasted well into the evening and many gifts and food were passed around in good company. Naru got a mixture of scrolls on training for her new style, a beautiful fighting staff and a new, larger pouch for her weapons'. A glove fastening in dark brown leather was given to her for her staff which was collapsible. Hinata was given a giant scroll on medical ninjustu, some protective gloves, a medical pouch filled with supplies, and a large scroll-which the Hokage explained was a summoning contract that had been left to her from her mother. Lee was given some nunchuku, a large weapons pouch, and some training scrolls for several Taijustu styles.

When the party was winding down, they were summoned to the Hokage and Crane-sensei and told that as of now they were a three man team, unfortunately they would not be able to do missions together ubtil they learned enough in their respected talents. On his desk the Hokage picked up a cloth that had covered three scrolls in varying colors. One was green-this was handed to Lee, and he was told to report to training ground nine at dawn tomorrow. The next one was brown and white-this was given to Hinata, she was told to wait at the village gate at ten'o clock tomorrow and to pack for several weeks. The last scroll was gray and black-this was given to Naru, she was told to wait at the Hokage's tower at two in the morning and not to be late. Dismissed they all walked back home, content in knowing that they had passed and were now going to train with their new sensei's.

0-0-0-0-0

A blaring alarm woke Naru as she scrambled to launch out of bed to stop the shrill ringing. It was one 'o clock in the morning and she decided to head to the bath house. Grabbing her towel and walking along the hallways she noticed that the lights in Lee and Hinata's rooms were off, indicating that they were still asleep. In the bath house, the smell of sulfur laced with cherries hit her full blast. Discarding her pajama's she hopped in to the hot water. She washed her hair and body with her mango scented shampoo and conditioner and relaxed for a few minutes. She felt so comfortable, but like all good things it had to end. Grumbling about people who didn't know the value of sleep, she got dressed and walked to the Hokage tower, grabbing some muffins from a shop that had opened on the way. She arrived and noticed the coming and going shinobi, most seemed to be getting back from missions and were getting paid. A few even nodded at her, while most whispered about how she had passed her genin exam.

Walking into the Hokage's office she wasn't surprised to see him working. Giving him a small bow, she walked to the couch and sat down, waiting for her new sensei. An hour passed before the Hokage stopped writing and looked up at a man with long white hair. He seemed to be around fifty and had wrinkles prominent near his eyes. Two long red marks like tear tracks ran down his face. He was very tall and heavily built. On his back he wore a large summoning scroll. His clothing was a mixture of red and greens. He wore wooden clog like sandals on his feet, he wore no Konoha forehead protector, but rather a horned one with the kanji for oil on it.

The Hokage beckoned her over and the man simply watched. "Naru, this is Jairiya of the sannin, he will be your mentor in training you in espionage and seals." she nodded at the man and he gave a small nod back-both to tired to say hi. "you will need to pack some things for a trip of about five weeks…dismissed." bowing to the Hokage she turned on her hells and walked back home.

Heading into her room she pulled out several outfits and her new gear, making sure her staff was packed with her gear on her arm. Writing a quick note to her friends, Naru ran to the main gate and her mentor. He was waiting and without a word they both set out for the training sites.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata woke to the sound of someone leaving. She blinked the sleep from her tired, lavender tinted eyes, and cracked her jaw in a yawn. Looking around the room, Hinata felt safe and warm and was loathe to get out of the confines of her comfortable covers. Then her alarm started to ring. Sighing in fates cruel gestures, she slipped from the bed and walked over to the vile object. Slamming her palm down on the off button, she walked over to her closet and took out some clothes for the weeks ahead.

A smile broke through her face as she held the haite-ate of Konoha, the smooth metal engraved with a sharp leaf stared back at her. She had done it, she had graduated and she was now going to leave the village for her training._ see father, I may be weak now but, I know I'm stronger than any of you because I value true strength. I'm going to be trained as a med-nin and save lives. Maybe one day I will come to see why you did this father, but until that day I thank you, if I had stayed in that poison's filled clan, I would have never gotten strong. _Packing up the rest of her things, she stopped and turned around, laying innocently against the wall was the summoning scroll of mice. She was curious about the thing, especially when she found out it belonged to her mother. She didn't remember much about the kind women, all she could think of was that she died not long after Hanabi was born.

Still, the scroll beckoned her until she heaved the heavy roll up. Placing it on her back she grabbed the other scrolls for her medical gear and left out the door and down the hall ways. Looking around, she noticed that both Lee and Naru's doors were closed, yet both were gone. Sighing she left the house grabbing some rice cakes and leaving towards the main gate.

Yet when she got there, no one was there to greet her. Feeling left out, she walked out onto the dusty road, not knowing were she was heading. It seemed like minutes before she was stopped. Several Konoha shinobi barred her path. From their flak jackets she assumed that they were chunin. One of them stepped forward, he looked her over and made a hand sign, muttering "kai" under his breath. When nothing happened, he nodded and stepped back. "are you Hyuuga Hinata." she gave a jerky nod, he motioned with his hand for her to follow. Seeing no other option, she complied. Several tense moments later they arrived in a clearing, it was spread out with large white medical tents. Med-nin scurried hither and thither, never stopping but always in control.

A large breasted women with a scar on her forehead met them halfway. "My name is Shifune. You may call me Shifune-sensei if you wish. I am going to be your mentor, and pass onto you the teachings of medical ninjustu. You are going to start slow, but things will increase when we head for the border. Here is a special med scroll, you may start once you've put away your things." Hinata looked around the organized camp and walked over to an empty tent, stowing her things, she ran back to her new sensei ready to begin her lessons.

0-0-0-0-0

Lee ran around early morning shoppers and merchants as he navigated the way to training ground nine. Jumping over random civilians and cargo, he knew that he was getting nowhere fast and finally decided to take the high road when a crowd of old lady's created a blockade in front of him. Gathering as much chakra to his feet as he dared, he jumped onto a wall and ran up to the roof. Lee felt that momentary thrill of being able to at least cultivate this much chakra for such a staple part of a shinobi's lifestyle.

He felt a little sad that neither Naru nor Hinata had come to see him off, but soon pushed that feeling aside. He really couldn't blame either of them-being as Naru left way early and Hinata needed some sleep for her own journey.

_Still it would have been nice too see both of them off. Hmm, I wonder if this was the Hokage's plan to begin with- separating us to make us stronger in our own abilities without the hampering and distractions friends can be…still, I won't see both of them until our trainings are done. _Lee ran like a madman, he could see the wide fields of training ground nine and a bolt of excitement hit him like a high powered arrow. Training ground nine was a place specially favored by Taijustu users, in that it was flat enough for learning new kata and techniques, but overgrown enough to provide a challenge. The grounds were mostly made up of grassland, with a nice river on the side and a smidgen of trees for practicing tree fighting.

Landing gently on the ground outside the training field, he cast his eyes around for his new sensei. Nothing…there was nobody in the abandoned area. Feeling ire at the fact that he saw nobody, Lee was about to head home, when he heard a crash and a sickening thud. Not caring that he could be heading straight into a trap, Lee pushed off the ground and ran towards the noise. _please don't let this be a trap…please don't let this be a trap…_ these thoughts flowed through his mind, worrying him but filling him with rightful energy.

Not stumbling once, though his legs were being grabbed at by weeds and roots, Lee pushed on. Soon he came upon a decimated clearing. Trees had been destroyed and the ground was littered with craters. Three training posts had been uprooted and haphazardly thrown in random directions. He took all of this information in quickly, and then froze as a noise on his right made itself known. Turning around slowly, mentally preparing himself for a fight, Lee looked upon the man that had destroyed the clearing and let his guard drop.

"Gai-sensei…what are you doing here!?"

The man could have easily been Lee's deceased father. Gai had dark black hair cut in a bowl cut, big eyebrows, and a jonin flak jacket pronouncing his rank. On his legs he wore orange leg warmers. His body was covered by a green spandex outfit, with his hai-ate on a red dark red ribbon around his waist as a belt. it was widely acknowledged by most every shinobi, that Maito Gai was one of the best Taijustu users to ever come out of Konoha. More acknowledged than that was the fact that he was clearly eccentric.

"Ah, Lee. In answer to your youthful question, the esteemed Hokage asked me to mentor a student and pass on my hip ways of youth to a new generation!" fire burned in Gai's eyes as he went on a tangent about youth and Taijustu-Lee sat down and listened, thinking his new sensei to be the greatest man he had ever met.

0-0-0-0-0

In a office, and old man sat at his desk and smiled. Yes, those three would defiantly become the greatest shinobi the leaf had ever produced. All of them burned with the will of fire and would use this will to keep the leaf warm in all difficulties.

Chuckling to himself, the Sandaime Hokage got back to work and ruminated on three other children who he had once taught-with all his ageing heart, he desperately wished for them to not turn out like his team.


	5. Chapter 5

AN: sorry about the delay on updating chapter four, my computer finally fizzed out and I had to by a new one. Now with all my priorities taken care of, here is chapter five.

Chapter five:

The first day(s).

Hinata felt a rough kick to her legs and bolted awake, pale eyes shined in a hidden ire-promising pain for the rude awakening. A older women, her age could have rivaled the Sandaime's, gave a uninterested look down at her rumpled form. "get dressed and meet at the ration tent in five, that's an order trainee." the lady turned on her heels and walked out of the tent, probably to get some food before the day started.

Looking around at her Spartan settings, Hinata simply sighed and got dressed in her tan training outfit and white lab coat. she had only been here for a few days and already she was ready to go back home to her friends. Moving aside the tent flap, she blinked against the glare of the false dawn. Here people scurried around, moving across the clearing-most to the communal rations tent, others to watch the camp or take care of patients. Not yet awake, Hinata moved stiffly towards the call of breakfast-as meager and plain as it was, and mentally prepared herself for her day.

The bright lamp light blared in the confined space of the huge tent. Keeping her head down and trudging forward she got in line for the food. Hard oat bread and some hard boiled eggs, a few steamed vegetables and an apple all fell on her tray. To tired to care and knowing everyone else was eating the same thing, Hinata didn't make a fuss, not that she would in the first place. Walking and sitting down in a vacant seat, she started to eat and think. How were Naru and Lee doing, were they okay, did they miss her like she missed them? So many questions flew through her mind, sighing and then berating herself for sighing, she chewed her food in silent vexations.

She had nearly finished her meal when her sensei suddenly sat down in front of her. This small women of about forty, was tougher then nails and harder then rock. With steel colored hair pulled into a tight bun and piercing green eyes, Shifune-sensei commanded the medical corps of the camp with an iron will and let it be known easily that her word was law. She was a fighter and proved it by the large scar on her forehead. The older women did have a kinder side- unfortunately no one in the camp besides the patients ever saw it.

Hinata watched as Shifune-sensei leaned back, arms over her generous chest. Pale lavender tinted eyes met wintergreen, a silent war seemed to start, with neither side willing to give in. maybe it had been minutes, maybe seconds before her sensei slapped her hand on the crude table. "well… I'm surprised, Hinata-chan, who knows what will change you the longer you stay here with us. But sadly today is not going to be a fun filled and easy day." Hinata was in a mind to glare at her sensei for the joke, but before she could do that, Shifune continued. "yep, all of us are moving to the border… we have a camp set up already, and this will allow us to transport some of the more critically injured patients to the hospital in Konoha. Don't expect anything amazing when we get there, Hinata-chan, you are going to fully start your training and believe me, all of us are going to work you to the bone…get ready to leave, we disembark at noon.

She watched as Shifune-sensei left, her mind in slight turmoil. Of course Hinata had known that she would be leaving to the border with the rest of the med-corps but, she didn't think it would be so soon. She got up and handed her tray back, content to go back to her tent and collect her already packed equipment.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata walked out of the clearing-now bare with only flattened area's that told their presence had been here at all. Easily the youngest person here, she tried real hard to make herself invisible before her sensei had found out her plan and was now trying to include her into the conversation-it wasn't working. After an hour of this, her sensei dismissed everyone around her and admitted defeat.

Since she had been here, her stutter was practically gone. Yet, she had spoken like that since she was very young and in a way, it was her security blanket. She knew she was being cowardly and that this was only going to get her in trouble, but she just needed time to come to terms with it all. Already considered an adult, expected to act like an adult, commanded respect as an adult-Kami she was only seven years old, too young to even be home by herself without someone checking up on her. She should be in the academy, learning how to escape knots and evade capture, not force march across the land of fire to a border to heal people…she stopped, her breathing was erratic and her heart was skipping beats. _oh Kami, I don't belong here. Naru and Lee, I'm sorry guys, how could I believe I would amount to any greatness as yourselves. My father was right, I am worthless…I'm sorry…_

Shifune caught her charge as she fell. Waving over some of her helpers, she moved her chakra covered hand over the fallen girl, pleased to note that no injuries had befallen her. Her sharp green eyes noticed the light and fast breathing and considered on what had made the young girl hyperventilate hard enough that she passed out. A small whisper-no more than a breathe of air, moved by her and her harsh features softened somewhat. "no Hinata-chan, you are so much better than what you give credit too…even I know you're not worthless." gently hoisting the young girl up on her shoulder, Shifune gave the all clear and they started moving once more. The border was only a day or two away now.

0-0-0-0-0

The world was dark and oddly peaceful. No noise disturbed her, Hinata felt she could live here forever with only the silence to keep her avid company. She opened her eyes, or were they already open, and met the vast eternity of slate darkness. Like warm velvet it caressed her, comforted her, told her she would only be here for just a little longer. She asked the nothing…were was she going, Hinata never got the answer. She felt all things fading and then it hit her.

_All things fade, given time…even I will cease to exist, along with both Naru and Lee. One day we will all be names on a rock, people will speak of us on what we did good or wrong in our lives, they will count the victories and losses and look to remaining family to provide these answers…but they will never understand 'us'. they will never know that Naru can't sleep a whole night through or that Lee thought green spandex outfits were the most amazing thing since sliced bread and they will never know that I bought my exile from my clan. But most of all they will never know how we became friends and changed our lives around…and that's okay._ Hinata felt herself awakening, and for once truly welcomed the harsh sunlight, happy that she understood herself better then ever.

The first breath as a changed person was always going to be the sweetest that Hinata had ever taken. Finches in the surrounding forest cheeped out hello's and insults. A body shifted next to hers and caused Hinata to have a mild heart attack. She relaxed when she saw it was Shifune-sensei. "hello sensei." she felt the urge to giggle uncontrollably when she saw her sensei's eyebrows shoot to the top of her hair line."Hinata-chan, well now I'm surprised you didn't stutter, let me guess I have finally cured the unthinkable." giving a small laugh, Hinata was hoisted up and out of the tent, pulled by the ridiculously strong women.

"well, now that you're awake, I guess we can start on your training. Man so much to do so little time, I personally blame our Hokage, but well that doesn't really go well with most of these shinobi. Ah well another day, another age. Come Hinata-chan, we have to get you some food and then into one of these handy-dandy tents. Following the passionate women, Hinata had to nearly trot to keep up with her long strides. So much for being under med care for several days.

Walking along the perimeter of one of the med-tents, Hinata watched as patients came and went. Some were really badly wounded others had only minor inconvenients. She watched with horrified, yet fascinated eyes as a man was brought in. He had bad third degree burns-probably caused by a katon justu. Parts of his legs and arms had gouges in them and littering his torso was a mass of bloodied flesh and shuriken. Hinata wanted to gag, the smell of burnt flesh and blood was overpowering her senses and making her woozy.

When she had first arrived at the camp, she was given the fish revival training and had completed the assignment in record time. Unfortunately, now she was finished with the saner project and would have to start her job as a trainee medic. "Hinata-chan, bring some boiled water and some clean gauze, now." needing no second bidding, Hinata ran like the devil was at her heels, happy to be out in the sunlight. Not stopping she ran into the supply tent and asked a person for the things she needed. Running all the way back, she burst through the flaps and distributed her burden to the qualified med-nins. By now the man was thrashing in agony, mouth open in a silent scream, sweat pouring down his face. He was a young man, maybe in his late twenties.

Hinata felt herself tremble, could this happen to her or her friends? She closed off her mind to distractions and grabbed a roll of gauze, starting at his left thigh she worked her way up. Of course she was a trainee, not even cleared for handling patients, but seeing no one stop and the nods for her to keep going, she did the job like her colleagues and she was going to make damn sure that he lived another night.

The work was precarious. One bandaged leg done wrong, chakra wavering, shitty work, all of these could harm the patient and even kill them. Being from a clan, Hinata had been trained practically from birth to control her chakra, to sense it. Then she had met the Hokage, Crane-sensei and Anko, these people had taught her the uses for chakra. Lee had made her notice the merit off having useable chakra, while Naru had helped her to understand the very nature of the energy of everything living. Hinata rolled the gauze around the wounds of the man, he moved his tired hazel eyes towards her. "a-are you a-an ange-l." shocked eyes turned towards him, he smiled, showing bloodied teeth. A glowing green hand touched his forehead and his eyes closed in final exhaustion. Looking at her sensei, Hinata tried to find the connection between the hard women who commanded the med-nin and this tired looking doctor of only forty. "come Hinata-chan, lets leave the men to his rest."

It was a calm night. Several hours had been taken to heal the man, and as such the balance between night and day had flipped. Walking along a small overgrown path, Hinata and Shifune spoke no words. The met a fork in the path, directly in front of it lay a broad lake, sparkling blue with the white disk of the moon reflecting on its still surface.

Shifune stopped walking and stared out at the peaceful setting. "Hinata-chan…why did you not follow your orders today. A trainee does not help out with the patients, you know this and I know this, and yet, I allowed you to prove yourself in the face of opposition…you did very well though. You could be a natural if you worked on being more assertive." Hinata waited, knowing there was more to come. " did you know my sensei brought me here, and basically gave me the same rundown…it was during the second shinobi war. We, the med-nins, were down several men and women…I was only a trainee like you, yet I was compelled to work alongside my fellows and try to save as many I could. We were camped near this same border, the sounds of fighting rang loud and clear in the night, you couldn't even see the moon from all the smoke obscuring the sky." a lone flash of nostalgia flickered in her sensei's bright green eyes.

The moon seemed to only illuminate the silhouettes of the two people. The dark night held its secrets well, by morning there would never be any sign that such talks had been held in the company of the wind and trees, natures own witnesses.

0-0-0-0-0

Later that night, Hinata watched the stars through the flap to her tent. Maybe she could find that inner strength, conquer it and move on in her life. She knew life was hard for most folks, and that her lot in life, besides Naru's and Lee's, made everything that much more difficult. Hinata sighed, why couldn't life just hand her a list of all the horrible, hard or depressing things that would happen to her.

Rolling over she closed her pupil less eyes and fought for her freedom to sleep.

_0-0-0-0-0_

_Hinata found herself in a small, rural village. Wooden houses on stilts rose from the hard, packed ground, the smell of salt and brine filled the air, and on the wind, seagulls looped and dived. The village was obviously poorer then Konoha, but everything about the place spoke of comfort and simplicity._

_Moving her legs, Hinata walked forward. A few wisps of dust puffed up from under her bare feet, the ground felt cool and slightly sandy. A faint crashing sound issued from over a small community of pale gray hills, reached her ears. Looking around, she realized that she was alone, a sense of foreboding, raced up Hinata's spine…why was she alone and why was she here? Continuous steps echoed loudly in the abandoned village as Hinata searched for the locals. Nothing was found._

_She was just about to turn back when a shrill squeak forced her attention over. She saw nothing that could have made such a sound, but by this point she had stopped searching. In front of her, a monster of a mountain loomed over her and the forgotten village. It spiked dramatically towards the heavens and seemed to pierce the clouds-like the teeth of a predator tearing at the fleece of lambs. Shivering, Hinata walked slowly towards the rocky giant, neither willing nor able to turn and walk away._

_It might have been minutes, maybe hours before Hinata had reached the base. Large boulders seemed to be the only occupants on the face of the silent mountain, besides the occasional scrub grass. Looking around, her sharp eyes searched every crevice and crack. Another squeak alerted Hinata to a small cave like opening and crouching down she fully intended to follow where it led. A harsh gasp of air flew from her frozen lips as she fell down into a body of icy cold water. Not having time to scream for help, she felt herself being born down a torrent, the water bearing her further down a tunnel, deeper into the earth._

_Hinata fought the rapid moving water, her lungs and muscles strained while her skeleton groaned in the arctic clutches of the tunnels life blood. To her, it felt like she was a small paper boat on a stormy sea, she had no control and was in desperate fear for her life. A roaring mass of white, blinding in the darkness churned chaotically ahead of her. There wasn't even time for a prayer, before Hinata was born over the side of a gigantic underground waterfall, which was only too eager for her to be swallowed up. _

_0-0-0-0-0_

Hinata bolted straight up out of her small cot. The desperate hammerings of her heartbeat and the slickness of her sweat dripping down her body calmed Hinata. She was alive. Not one for analyzing dreams or for believing in superstition, even she felt the undeniable attractions of one who was courting disaster. Slowly working to breathe normally, Hinata shivered. The water, the fall, the icy touch that froze the breath in her lungs, everything had seemed real: a scary fate for her it seemed. Quickly looking out the tent flap, she noticed that it was dawn and not wanting to get into any trouble, practically raced to get her clothes on, her hair brushed out, and her med-gear stowed in scrolls before she had to run to the rations tent for breakfast.

The calm buzz of conversation cloaked Hinata in a warm shield, preventing her from thinking about the mysterious dream. Grabbing her tray filled with some type of fish and rice mash, she took a seat with some other trainees.

She had expected to be greeted with a apathetic look of greeted tiredness, but instead got a look mixed with annoyance and jealousy. Slightly ducking her head and whispering a good morning, Hinata focused half of her attention on her food and the other half on the conversation.

"yeah can you believe…"

"or have you heard…no I haven't"

"huh, great medic my ass, she couldn't save the life of a paper bag, let alone a human being…why is she even here, look at her she is too young to be a genin much less a med-nin in training!." a loud, whiney voice cut the gentle lull of conversation in half. It was Fugiwa Ioku, a second year med-nin trainee, one of the most celebrated of her class and had record of the best known bitchy attitudes ever categorized.

Ioku stood at a impressive five ft. five inches, had shoulder length-curly black hair and brown eyes. She wore the standard clothes for a med-nin, except hers were tailored to fit a slightly sultry appeal. She was one of the rudest people to ever come out of the medic corps, always bossing others around, making them do her work and then taking credit for it, and generally causing mayhem in camp with her whining. "look around you…all of us trainees have been going through camps such as this one for several years training on just the basics…and then she comes along, with her 'I'm such a defenseless little girl routine', pathetic." snarling Ioku faced Hinata down, a silent challenge being issued.

Hinata felt a wave of animosity hit her hard. "Ioku-san, p-please, keep your voice down." cringing internally at the slight stutter, she turned her pupil less eyes at the now red-faced teenager. Anyone with half a living brain cell was watching the staring contest. Until a crash was heard.

Random snarls and growls kept spewing from the livid teen. Her pretty features were screwed up in a ugly mask of rage. Killer intent flowed freely and with clear purpose. Hinata wanted to run, but knew she wouldn't get far. "You dare tell me what to do. You are barely out of academy bitch, here let me give you a lesson they never taught you!" without warning, Ioku ran at the stunned Hinata, a fist upraised. A bolt of actual fear gallivanted Hinata to run, and run she did. Not knowing any specific direction to go in, she chose one at complete random. Into the woods, briars and weeds attempted to hold the running seven year old. The crashing sounds of her pursuer echoing her own ungainly retreat, followed shortly behind.

Then they stopped.

Hinata pushed on harder. The only reason she wasn't hearing Ioku anymore was because she had probably wised up and was now stalking her and concealing her chakra. It was either that or someone had managed to capture Ioku before she killed her.

She never stopped once, not even when she fell, Hinata would get right back up and keep running. Unfamiliar terrain blurred past her, trees and rocks became undistinguishable and yet she kept running. Night fell and the moon rose high in the inky blackness, the stars kept her company as she started to slow down, the adrenaline wearing off. Confused, hungry, and in desperate need for a bathroom break, Hinata had no choice but to stop and rest.

She moved around the small little clearing, large pine trees dominated the area, but underneath them laid tangles of blackberry bushes. Walking over to them and grabbing a several large handfuls, Hinata chose a spot under one of the trees with out the prickly bushes and took stock of her situation.

She had no weapons save some kunai and shuriken, no water or shelter. Some where along her run, she had lost her sandals and now her feet were cut up and bleeding, the skin red and puffy from being rubbed raw and from infection. Her clothes were in tatters, not even fit for use as rags let alone some bandaging for her injuries. Her body was exhausted and refused the commands for getting up and moving. Her face, hands, feet and lower torso was covered in dust, sweat and mud-gained from her untimely falls.

Looking around, Hinata saw only the hidden expanse of forest surrounding her. With her back pressed up against the rough wood of her pine tree, Hinata sprawled out her body and tried to get some sleep.

Several hours later Hinata flashed her eyes open, and held her breath. Several large, vicious looking wolves stared back at her. She didn't know how long she stayed there, only that by the time the sun had peaked the tree tops, the wolves had vanished, leaving her in isolation once more.

With a muffled groan of agony, Hinata heaved her broken body upwards. The only thought in her mind was to get away fast. Leaning on the trees, she walked slowly away, picking blackberries for later and searching for a suitable shelter.

Hours crawled by and the sun had slowly gone down. Hinata was in a world of hurt. Not able to take anymore, she dropped to her knees. The blood was sloughing out of her feet, leaving little bloody footprints along the unforgiving ground. Tears randomly fell from her pale eyes, a twitch was being developed in them along with a slight burning that had started after the sun had dimmed down. Hinata felt the shaking in her limbs and knew it would be pointless to go any further that night. To make her matters even worse, the wolves she had thought she left behind were back and had settled among the trees-their yellow eyes watching her every movement, waiting for the time to strike.

Twisting herself around, Hinata placed her hands on her feet and concentrated hard. For a few minutes nothing seemed to be happening, then out of nowhere, a deep green light started to cover her hands. A rush of cool chakra hit her injured feet, repairing her torn skin and muscles. A sigh of relief escaped her.

Smiling in satisfaction at her newly developed skills, Hinata laid back down, too tired to care if today was going to be her last. Glad that the roaring pain had stopped in her feet, Hinata quietly took stock of her situation-no food, no water, no shelter-her chances of survival dropped dramatically. She was also with out any good weapon-sure she had some kunai and shuriken, but those required some form of accuracy and the ability to spot your opponent, something she couldn't do because it was darker then ink out there.

Resigning herself to the waiting game, Hinata got on her hands and knees and slowly crawled to a tree so she could have something at her back. In the undergrowth, she could hear the sound of the wolves pacing and the barely audible growls that emitted from them. Slightly hissing in annoyance at the continuous stinging in her eyes, Hinata calmly watched her surroundings-tonight was not going to be an easy one.

0-0-0-0-0

Shifune watched as her med-nins rushed around the camp. Outwards, she looked calm and collected but on the inside she was a mess-anger, sorrow and surprisingly fear plagued her when she closed her eyes. How could she have let one of her own become so uncontrolled. Ioku was supposed to go places after she had completed her training, she had hoped that the rude teen would learn some measure of humility and kindness, sadly she had been mistaken and now Hinata was paying the price for her impotence. Grimacing in self-loathing, Shifune walked to the forests edge, lost in thought. If only she had stopped Ioku, then maybe Hinata wouldn't be all alone in the forest hunted by a apparently insane med-nin trainee.

"Hinata, please be careful and come home soon."

0-0-0-0-0

Oh kami it hurt. Hinata rubbed her eyes, they were stinging. It felt like someone had heated up small metal needles and then shoved them into her eye sockets and then twisted them around. The pain was something she was becoming used to, but kami it was becoming too much. The wolves were shifting and whining in the shadows of the trees, safe from prying eyes, Hinata could almost taste their excitement at the hunt. A ragged scream was suddenly torn from her throat at the intense burn that started in her eyes, something wet slipped from the closed lids. All her other senses became haywire, Hinata picked up the crack of sticks as the wolves rushed forward, the loud thud of their paws hitting the densely packed ground, so close-too close.

The lead wolf pounced, the rancid breath from its mouth, drool flying, stray pieces of fur buffeted by the wind, she could hear the others following suit, eager to tear limb from limb. The pain kept building, tears continued streaming, her breathing increased as well as her heartbeat. Then time stopped and Hinata became calm.

Rising on suddenly steady legs, posture erect-yet flowing, arms forward but bent at the elbows, fingers together. Her hair blew in the wind, so short but showing her hidden strength. The collective intake of air collected by both parties, a preparation for something bigger then fight or flee. Claws shot forward leading the charge, yellow eyes looking ahead, anticipating the outcome of its victory. She suddenly dropped in an unfamiliar stance, the grace of a women who hid her wildcat interior, the building heat in her eyes screamed out commands that neither girl nor wolf heeded. One arm bent back above her head, the other beckoning her adversary. So close, a howl ripped from the wolf leader, sounding the hunt, a small voice yelled out her challenge:

"Byakugan!" her pale lavender tinted eyes shot open.

The flow of the wolves chakra was easy to see. Hinata didn't waste time. Slaps were heard that night as one by one the wolf pack was defeated-by the hands of a little girl with pale, pupil less eyes. The battle raged for moments, one slap earned her a snarl and a snap of teeth filled jaws-she was past the time of caring. Chakra filled hands beat the hostility from the wild animals. A splash of scarlet indicated the injury to both sides, a hush fell as the last wolf rose from the ground. The lead wolf walked over to the girl until they were a foot away from each other, clear respect for the other fighter was evident in their eyes, this fight was a lesson both needed to learn. With out a sound the wolves turned and ran off in the other direction, leaving Hinata all alone once more-a small smile curled at her lips.

That night as she healed her injuries, she looked to the moon hidden beyond the canopy of the forest and grinned at the howls of wolves.

0-0-0-0-0

Ioku was on the hunt.

Blood stained tracks led her to her prey-the stupid Hyuuga. Soon she would show the bitch why her rule was undisputed. The shadows never bothered her, she had become well versed in their secrets. Why her master had made her join the silly camp of med-nin in the first place was beyond her. All her orders were to kill off the Hyuuga chick before she realized her true strength, besides that she was free to torture the submission of the once heiress.

Ioku was on the hunt.

A face that was once so filled with life had hardened into a mask of hate and rage. One she would never be able to remove. If only she could be young and carefree once more, a grin of bloodlust clouded her vision-she only saw red. Trees blurred in a mindless wave of bland colors as she traveled through the branches of the tall trees.

Wait little Hinata, Ioku is coming.

Ioku was on the hunt.

0-0-0-0-0


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter six:

The first day(s)-Naru style.

Naru glared at the dusty brown path.

The winding menace just wouldn't end, not that it truly mattered as she was in great shape and all, but really-did they need to put in five brothels, two abandoned merchants carts and a partridge in a pear tree. _I mean really did they need to plant a damn pear tree in the middle of the fucking path, for Kamis' sake._ occasionally she would feel the glance of her mentor on her jacketed back. Though she had already traveled with the pervy man for a few days, both seemed inclined to not talking about anything regarding Konoha, friends, and the occasional flirt of some women-who Naru was sure, suffered from a lack of good eyesight.

But back to the matters at hand. Both Jiraiya and Naru had gotten up at the pivotal ass-crack of dawn, ate a swift breakfast, and then marched in the awe inspiring direction of south. To say the least Jiraiya had developed a case of twitching eye around one in the afternoon, while Naru was currently glaring at no one in particular and cursing the name of every Kami known to the mortal world.

Though thoroughly pissed about the forced march, Naru was also very curious about their destination. Where were they going? What was it like? Would she be learning anything new? Thoughts like these currently plagued her when she was alone, sadly Naru was helpless to stop them, just as she was helpless to control the long dusty path they traveled on.

It didn't take long before her sensitive ears picked up the subtle sound of hooves and feet marching the desolate road. It was an even shorter lapse in time and judgment when both her and Jiraiya came across a traveling troupe. Boy was it a sight to behold: large carts carried poles and tent material; all pulled by oxen who eyed them with bored scrutiny. Women rushed by in clothes that showed sheer-which earned Jiraiya a swift kick in the gut for eyeing the beautiful vixens, courtesy of one Uzumaki Naru. While Jiraiya was currently wooing the women with only some bruised ribs and dignity, Naru walked contentedly around the troupes perimeter. She saw signs for fortune tellers, spice sellers, men who obviously knew what a gym was for, food and drink notices and the occasional drunk who managed to wander mystically among the roads without bother. This seemed to be such a different world from Konoha, she saw people helping others and was even greeted by some of those working.

In Konoha, she was wary of any crowd over five-ten or twenty warranted Armageddon in her vocabulary. It was almost sad when she saw someone wave too her and smile -while she could only compare the misery that had indeed created company out of her pain.

Walking around one of the heavy laden carts-past those yoked oxen of course, and spotted a group of elderly troupe members and felt her feet instinctively carry her towards them. It was odd to say who was more surprised, Naru-who was inwardly cursing herself, or the old folks-who was wondering when they picked up a red-haired child for their shows.

"um…hi…my names Naru…" the uncomfortable silence prevailed after her brief introduction. One by one the old ones turned to each other and spoke in confidential whispers that not even Naru's trained ears could distinguish between. So she stood of to one side and willed the slight burning red in her cheeks to fade, lest anyone saw who was from the troupe or kami forbid Jiraiya would never let her live it down if he caught her blushing. Shuddering in a morbid fashion, she waited for the small war conference to come to an end.

0-0-0-0-0

Ten minutes later.

Jiraiya had finally found her, scolded her about running after strange people-to which naru punched him in the nose for him being a hypocrite, and then proceeded to tell her about his next amazing decision in teaching her all that he knew.

"oh kami, I'm going to become a pervert after this aren't I…just say the word and I will run away from here…nay, just send me the signs." Naru fell to the ground bemoaning the fact that her life was virtually screwed to the deepest layer of hell that had ever manifested.

"oi, shut it gaki, honestly your going to make me look bad in front of the darling ladies, huh to bad there's not an onsen for several miles yet…its just sad when perverts can't unite on the simple plain of peaking on women while they bathe…oi brat what are ya doing with that wheel…" a booming crunch was heard from two towns over and people swore for several weeks after that they had seen a white haired man with green and red clothing flying through the air at record speeds, screaming at the audacity of someone named gaki.

Back down on earth, Naru was currently screaming at the heavens or more importantly the man in the stratosphere, that when he came back down she would castrate him with a rusty kunai and burn his porn novels at the same time.

"stupid brat its…erotica!"

0-0-0-0-0

It had taken a while for Naru to calm down, but now that she had it was time to listen to the elders.

The hierarchy of the traveling show was simple- new people worked the unloading, packing, and fixing jobs until they showed a particular skill that would place them higher in the circle of the show. Next came those who tended the animals, worked on costumes, and played minor roles in the shows performed, these where mostly made up of those who had found their particular skill. Second to last was the senior members of the troupe, these people played the major roles in the acts, handled the money, and owned or made their own props. These were also the people who had a major say in the running of the show and they people who worked and lived with them. Lastly there were the elders, they ran the troupe, the show and the people. They were too old to actively play roles now, but most narrated the events, told stories and occupied the working and peaceful atmosphere. They also had the ultimate say in what happened in matters of business, home and troupe life, and disputes in the show or places they visited.

Jiraiya had stressed to Naru about the need for her to start her espionage training. Maybe it was the one stroke of luck she was granted once in a blue moon, what was a better place to learn how to be a spy then in a traveling troupe who basically had free run of all the countries from Iwa to Konoha and all in between. This was technically going to be a solo assignment as Jiraiya was the official spy master of Konoha and was thus very busy with work- when he didn't delay to watch naked women bathe and write down their habits in his "research" journal. Stupid perv. As such she really couldn't depend on him being near her all the time, so most of this phase of her training would be conducted without her mentor, with Jiraiya showing up once in a while to teach her new stuff and then leave again.

A wizened old women, nearly hunched over in age walked forward towards the girl. She was wearing a simple blue kimono with a white border and some plain straw sandals. Her head was topped by a bun coiled from pure white hair-thin and straight. She was short about four ft six and had laughing brown eyes that had turned pale. Her face and hands seemed to be a mass of wrinkled skin and the color of slightly yellowed parchment.

" I am Ohi, leader of this troupe. That man Jiraiya-san asked that we take you into our care for a time…how does this make you feel Uzumaki-kun?"

Naru watched Ohi and gave her what she hoped was an encouraging nod. Sadly she wasn't used to dealing with people so much and it was giving her just a little more then normal stressful thoughts. _hmm, I wonder what Anko-nee would do?_ Naru quickly stopped that line of thought, it wouldn't bode well for a seven year old to make sadistic and borderline perverse innuendos.

Ohi gave a small lift at the corners of her mouth and waved her hand for some helpers. The next minute Naru was being ushered to one of the wagons meant for riding and then the troupe was off to their next village to perform.

Naru sighed at the dusty road and wished with all her might that her friends were having fun and learning new things from their mentors.

0-0-0-0-0

The day was amazing, not a cloud in sight, the sun was shining and a pretty red head was slowly beating the shit out of a white haired perv. Ah the life of a shinobi never stops.

Naru walked away from the bloody mess that was her mentor and instead turned her attention on the people she passed. It was a pretty, but here in the land of silk, everything seemed false-the smiles, the smells and the people. It was as if a huge secret was being kept and everyone knew it but turned a blind eye and hoped with time it would go away. The land of silk wasn't very big, but it produced the largest quantity of silks and materials from their farms year round, as such Jiraiya-who she was now going to call pervy sage, had ordered this to be her first solo mission. Unlike normal shinobi training, a spy is trained sparsely by their mentor before they are thrown into their jobs. This was one of the reasons that spies were not in large numbers, the other is the psychological tearing of the mind on the shinobi- loyalty is questioned and fear rises before long. Most spies though never live past their first few months and those who do are the ones who are eccentric and can thrive in the backstabbing environment.

Though Jiraiya was counting this as a solo, she was basically just doing this for practice. This would never go on her record besides the one she would write in a journal and keep under lock and key. Her mission: find out what the hell the people of the land of silk are hiding, gather important data, and then leave the land of silk with the traveling troupe until the next village. Seemed easy, until Jiraiya flirted with a passing women and she lost her temper and now had to cool of for the upcoming mission.

Walking back to the main tent, Naru saw Ohi sitting on a lounging chair enjoying the sun. for the life of her, Naru couldn't read the old women, it was as if she was wearing a muslin mask over her features. Truly it was a testament to her great age.

"oi, gaki you better not be thinking about my age."

Naru grinned in reply. "nah, you're to old to actually contemplate the meaning of age, hag. Huh, you were there when the ancients made the first year and even then you were decrepit and lazy and old."

The old women cackled, the spitting image of a witch. "careful baka, even at my age I still have enough power to kick ya all the way back to Konoha and still have time to enjoy the sun."

Naru calmly walked past the laughing elder and into the tent, calling over her shoulder, "at least I don't smell of old lady and moth balls."

The sound of a Ohi's laughter followed her as she joined the others of the troupe.

It was a special day- the first opening was a invitation to happiness and hope of good profit for the coming season, it was the pray that had too be answered if all was to go well. It was an honor to be able to stand with the hard working people who belonged to no true home but the road, and Naru was certain if all went well today she would be closer to her own goals. Friendship among the troupe was the wisest of teachers.

Looking around at the group before her, Naru felt a odd sense of…something. It grew at the sight of mothers embracing their children, boys training in the acrobatics regime, and the elders painting the masks used in plays. She couldn't name the emotion and quickly realized that she didn't want too, that putting a name to he most hidden desires would somehow tarnish the feeling of experiencing them.

Ohi walked by Naru while she was in her musings, and stood in the middle of the cluster of performers. A surprisingly serious look on her weathered face commanded the respect of those present-even Naru who was not one of them. A concentrated voice flittered among the troupe, telling the truth among riddles. "everyone, it is the combined effort of us as a whole that brings me, a little old woman, to lead a group of such dedicated people. You all make my little bitter heart beat just that much faster." a sad smile touched the old woman's face. " we will all go out there and do our best…Taku, you're on crowd control, Kogi, get the props wheeled out here, Naru…I want you to act out a sword dance tonight."

Naru stood stunned. Ohi wanted her to perform a sword dance, she didn't even know how to hold a sword let alone use one with competent knowledge to make it dance. A heavy hand fell on her thin shoulder, looking up she saw Tana, Kogi's wife, smiling down at her. Tana was the smith for the troupe, her word was pretty much law next to Ohi's.

"come fiery-one, let me help find a sword for your performance." Tana had a northern burr, that made her voice so much deeper and warm then any other woman that Naru had met. She nodded to the older lady and walked with her to the forge tent.

It was a large tent, filled with bins of metals and coals. A basin of water stood on a stand in the corner, several twisted chunks of steel leaned out from it. In the center of the tent a large fire burned temperamentally, crackling its war cry in a language long dead to the human race.

Tana walked to a rack of swords-many of them were props used in other such performances, yet a few were actual live weapons of steel. Naru felt oddly at home in the burning expanse of the tent with its sounds of the fire and the smell of molten metals, yet when she saw the swords that Tana had grabbed and brought over to her, she felt like a outsider who was finally let in to a special group.

"here fiery-one, choose the sword that calls to you. This will help the bonding process."

Naru looked up at the older woman and gave a brisk nod. The swords were all beautiful and well crafted-some carried jewels in their hilts, while others had special names and words carved into their blades. She was surprised when she by-passed all of those ones and instead focused on a simple sword. It had a slightly longer blade then the rest, and carried no carvings. The blade itself had a slight ripple in the design and a bluish tinting. The cross guard was a metal disk in the pattern of the moons phases, while the hilt was covered in deep blue fabric that ate the sweat off her palms when she picked it up.

It was weird holding the weapon. It felt right, like it had been calling her from a distance and was now pleased that she had finally gotten her ass here. Naru wanted to laugh who knew that the feeling a sword could give would be sarcastic, just the sword for her then. "Tana, I will choose this one." the finality in her voice surprised even herself, it was the voice of someone who had decided on a long and difficult decision and finally knew the answer.

Tana gave a small secretive smile while Naru had her backed turned. This girl-child would go very far in life but she would always have to prove herself. She would have to learn the skills of a leader in order to build compassion, understanding, and fearlessness. But with that she would have to become strong like a leader in order to show strength, judgment, and perseverance. Until she learned all of these, she could never truly be wise in the ways of a leader. But she was on her way-choosing the sword of character was the first true step in learning.

"fiery-one, come here…I need to teach you the proper hold and kata for your performance."

"hai, Tana-sensei!"

0-0-0-0-0

Naru stood in a small glade at the edge of town with Tana. Both held bokken or short wooden swords used to teach kenjustu. Turning to face each other, Tana launched into the knowledge of sword play. " Now, fiery-one, I will teach you how to manipulate the sword. First adjust your stance until it resembles a slight horse stance. Good, now move you right hand up near the cross guard and move you left hand down near the bottom. Now hold that position until I tell you to drop it, okay begin."

~An hour and a half later~

Naru felt sweat falling down her face. She had been holding the stance for at least an hour and a half and she was tired and cramped. _stupid Tana-sensei, leaving me here while she went back to the forge. She didn't even tell me to stop this stance, how am I going to perform anything if I haven't been taught the kata. Things couldn't possible get worse._ well Naru wished that she hadn't thought those things.

Tana watched from the tree-line as Naru held the stance for so long. She wasn't trying to be cruel, but Naru had to learn some measure of respect, dignity and humility. This would teach her control.

Naru decided to close her eyes and look into her self. She felt herself falling and before long she was in the same place where her battle against the red fox creature had taken place. The two separate tubes of light glowed apart from each other, yet moved towards the same goal. The contrast between the two startled her.

**Well, it seems you have yet to learn your lesson, brat. Why have you come back, I doubt it was for the view.**

Naru looked around wildly as the mysterious voice boomed in all directions. "who are you? Show yourself?"

Suddenly a huge flash of light suddenly blinked up from the tube containing the red light, which quickly morphed itself into the shape of a snarling fox. Naru felt weak as a barrage of emotions hit her full force, hate and anger being the most prominent. **Well well… seems you still have some fight left in you, eh kit. Tell me, why should I tell you anything about myself, what has allotted you the right to male such accusations?** the fox paused before continuing.** if you were any other human, I would have killed you by now, but you are amusing at the least so I will allow you to live your pathetic life for a while longer yet.**

Bristling at the condescending tone, Naru started to growl in anger as her temper flared. This unfortunately seemed to amuse the big feather duster even more. "just answer the fucking question before I make you." her breathing became more ragged as the fox started to chuckle in some form of twisted glee. " I'm warning you, stop before you piss me off even more."

A menacing grin formed on the beasts face as he spoke through his chuckles. **kit, what could you possible do to me. You have neither skill nor weapon to aid you.**

It was Naru's turn to grin. " I have beat you once, without the skill or weapons. I can do it again."

Silence prevailed in the empty place as both girl and fox stared at each other. Both hated the other, and neither was willing to admit defeat to the other. They needed a middle ground, for now at least a while. Yet deep within them, a mutual respect glittered and glowed, it was still weak and underdeveloped, but it was the first lit coal of the fire, it just needed air to make it make it burn.

**Kit. Earn my respect and attention, and only then will I allow you the knowledge of who I am.**

Naru was unimpressed but willing to barter the deal. " will you at least tell me what you are and why you are here." more silence caused her to wait with bated breath. What came next though caused her to become confused with shock.

**I am the Kyuubi no Konoha and your prisoner!**

**0-0-0-0-0**

Naru stood among the members of the troupe, simple watching the curious antics of the large family community. Over in the corner Tana-sensei gave her husband a swift kiss and walked over to her, a small smile lifted the corners of her mouth.

"fiery-one, are you ready?"

She nodded, no hesitancy showed on a face that any anbu would glow green with envy for. On the inside, Naru was terrified. Growing up hated and singled out for the simplest mistakes had taught her to hide what she was really feeling. Anbu training had only heightened those instincts, making her more aware of her surroundings but not causing her the normal paranoia that came with it.

Walking up to the tent flap, she adjusted the sword on her hip-its own measure of self-awareness practically ringing with excitement as she waited for the performance before hers to end.

Ohi walked up behind the red-headed girl and slowly tapped her shoulder. In her weathered hands she held a pretty mask made of black painted pine wood and streaming with white ribbons. Its face held the visage of a dragon with deer horns and gleaming fangs made out of crystal. Its features were carved to the finest detail, such definition popping out, stunning the small child in front of her. Handing Naru the mask, Ohi walked out of the conjoining tent up to the stage where she could view the audience in triumphant mystery. Her old voice rose and fell as she illuminated the story that was about to take place.

"long ago, before man had learned of the fates, the dragons ruled the continent. Their reign was peaceful and just for the dragons were wise beyond measure. Under their rule, harvests were bountiful and the forests flourished and man was content." behind Ohi, shadow puppets illuminated a screen, showing the audience the visual story. "the dragons lived high in their home of the greatest mountains and watched as man lived his life, and all was good."

Suddenly a great plume of purple smoke erupted on the stage, stunning the audience as several people wearing dragon masks and kimonos whirled and jumped on stage, imitating the flight of the dragon court to the cheering audience. Ohi smiled mysteriously to her audience, before she continued. " for many years the dragons simply watched the course of life for all beings, but one dragon felt that man was made for his kind to serve them. His name was Yang-the dragon of heaven and light!" a tall, muscular man threw himself out of the fray of still moving dragons, his coloring was a white mask with black ribbons flying gently on his deer horns, his fanged mouth held in a snarling façade. The Yang dragon drew his sword, and moved in slow, languid motions illustrating the rising dawn for which he governed.

"the Yang dragon, filled with a arrogance over man, attacked them in the wake of the rising sun. his steel burned with the force of a million stars as he slashed and hacked his way to victory. His pride compelled that only those who would prostrate themselves would live." the shadows in the background showed the carnage of the Yang dragons might as he destroyed the fragile balance between the universe itself. " the dragons left the world, not willing to fight the vengeful kinsman as he wrought destruction upon those the dragons promised to protect. The world was in despair." Ohi paused as the audience shifted to the edge of their seats, watching as the other dragons disappeared in plumes of dark purple smoke.

"yet, one dragon was not afraid to abandon her sacred duty, she flew down from the great mountains and charged into battle, for her people, for her home, for peace among the universe, the small dragon drew her sword and danced her deadly kata against her opposite-for she was the dragon whose honored name rang among the earths darkest nights, her name was Yin!"

A plume of black smoke covered the stage, as the audience gasped. Threw the smoke they saw bright blue eyes. Then all was silent.

0-0-0-0-0

Naru heard her cue and quickly used a chakra infused jump to appear on stage a second after the smoke covered everything. Her clothes rustled, they weren't heavy but showed a design of scales in bright black as her mask swallowed her face.

The smoke cleared quickly and Naru watched as the audience gasped in wonder-her masked face showed a dragon who was smiling in acceptance and sorrow, as she turned towards the other dragon. Nervous and exhilarated at the same time, she leapt forward.

She was the opposite of Yang, she was not a fighter of gentle moves and kata. Hers sliced with roar of energy and pride. To the audience, it looked as if the Yin dragon was dancing rather then fighting for the existence of mankind. Moving her sword, she told the story in every block and step of her being-she was no longer Uzumaki Naru but the Yin dragon of earth and night, and her duty was the continued peace of her world. She whirled in flight as she jumped and somersaulted in mid air, always moving closer to the other dragon-her opposite in all. Suddenly both dragons jumped towards each other, sometimes balancing on each other and sometimes twirling in different directions, but always coming back together.

Their swords came together as the shadows showed man on his knees, begging for the end of the tyrant dragon they once called lord. Yin, looked at Yang and both started to circle in the same direction, their swords locked against each other as both dragons moved faster and faster, until a bright plume of silver smoke swallowed them up.

0-0-0-0-0

Ohi smiled as she spoke. "so the Yin dragon, who was as wise as her kind, knew that only destruction would come of the Yang dragons death, battled against mind and heart, she created a spell that would meld them together for all time, forever circling each other in a dance of control and harmony, neither winning nor losing but always turning. As for man, he soon forgot all about the two dragons and lived his life in neither peace nor strife, for he could not remember who had once ruled him, but he could remember a circle with two sides splitting it in half- one who was as white as fresh snow and crowned with a sphere of black, while the other was as dark as night adorned with a sphere of white. Forever opposites that lived in harmony!"

Looking back at the shadows, a giant circle with the Yin and Yang intertwined appeared for a few minutes before fading away. Then a cheer so loud and vibrant shook the tent as Ohi was leaving, glad that it had gone well, better then she had hoped.

She smiled in amusement as Naru was hugged and smacked on the back from the troupe members, everyone wanted to thank her and yet no words could truly express how happy they all were that this little orange scrap of a girl had dropped into their lives.

0-0-0-0-0

In the crowd, a man hidden in a dark cloak watched as the girl who played the Yin dragon was brought up on stage for a well deserved ovation. Truly she was a beautiful sight, large blue eyes framed by vibrant red hair in a stunning tan complexion. Her size was small and thin and she still wore the kimono of her dragon counterpart.

He watched as she gave a gentle bow and smiled, before she turned in his direction. He felt a nervous sweat start at his forehead as she gave that same smile. He felt conflicted, he had his own mission, but even though he knew it would involve her, he felt that he needed to keep her safe.

A sinister smile made its way on his face as he stared at the blue eyed nymph. _soon my little dragon, we will meet and then nothing will ever harm you again. This I swear!_

With a burst of chakra, he disappeared in a wave of heat and was gone.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter seven:

The first day(s)-Lee style.

Far away, in a large field, a boy stood with his hands outstretched. Both were bandaged and wrapped around his arms, effectively covering a small portion of the eye smarting green jumpsuit he was wearing. At the moment, the boys large round eyes were searching for the man who was teaching him Taijustu-the ninja way of hand to hand combat. It was widely known that his chakra coils had been damaged and he would never be able to utilize the extremely precise balance of cultivating his chakra. When he had been younger he had been picked on by those he thought would be his friends, now though he had actual friends-Naru, a small girl with a love for the color orange and pranks and Hinata, a shy girl who with her gentle nature and great cooking skills. Both of them were a year younger then he was, but to him it didn't matter how much of an age difference there could have been so long as he was able to see them everyday for the rest of his time on earth.

But back to training. Gai-sensei had given him a task to work on his awareness to the things around him, and so far he was confused as hell. His task was to find his sensei's turtle-Ningame then report back to Gai-sensei._ gah, I wish Naru was, she could have done that weird technique where she locates a person by their feelings and emotion. Huh, no matter, I must find Ningame and then go home and eat. Ahh, I miss Hinata-chans cooking. No focus Lee, I have a job to do and I will complete it and then Naru and Hinata-chan will come back home stronger and I refuse to be left behind again!_

Somewhere, on the other side of the training grounds, a older man wearing a green jumpsuit, orange leg warmers and a jonin flak jacket with big bushy eyebrows and bowl cut, suddenly stood up in a tree congratulating his student on lighting the flames of youth within himself, before the branch he was standing on broke and he fell-screaming about how he would do four hundred chin ups with his hands tied behind his back for failing to stand up in the tree.

Lee calmly concentrated on what his past sensei, Crane had taught him about trying to sense chakra when the person wanted to remain hidden.

_**Flashback of youth.**_

_Lee was changing in the anbu changing room, and was the only one in there as both Naru and Hinata had already donned their masks and went to meet some of their other sensei's-mostly for tactics and field medicine and covert operations._

_Lee rarely cursed as he found it distasteful, it was another thing that sadly outlined his differences to the girls-Hinata usually fainted if someone besides him or Naru said anything remotely vulgar, while Naru came up with more swear words then any sailor knew how to say or understand. But in this exception Lee was seriously debating taking a page out of Naru's colorful language book. Already he was extremely late to lessons-something that was bad in of itself, but he could find his right sandal and showing up without his stuff was gonna make everything worse._

_Grumbling about no good sandals that left perfectly handsome young boys to search on their hands and knees for them, he crawled around in loose figure eights and soon realized that he was getting nowhere and he looked like and idiot._

_Sitting up on one of the benches in the room, he leaned back until his head made a very satisfying whack on the lockers behind. So caught up in his little depression, he failed to realize that someone was in the room with him, until the spoke out._

"_self-punishment may work for some people, but for you, Turtle…I believe it will only cause more problems."_

_Looking up at the man with the Crane mask, Lee felt even more ashamed that he had acted like a fool in front of his new sensei, obviously this day couldn't get any worse._

_Laughing he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment as his sensei walked over to the bench and sat down with him, a quizzical air surrounding them both. Clearing his throat, Lee looked over at Crane-sensei. "Crane-sensei…I didn't think you came down here often. Forgive me for not paying attention, I was busy…"_

_Interrupting him, Crane spoke. "looking for you right sandal if I'm not mistaken…don't level that surprised look at me boy, I have been around for quite a long time and should know if you were looking for something…also you are not wearing your right sandal."_

_Lee grinned at the subtle joke before he grew curious. "Crane-sensei…how did you sneak up on me?" really he should have noticed if someone else had walked in the same vicinity as himself._

_He watched as his sensei went more serious-mostly in the posture and aura, before glancing at him. "when someone wishes to remain hidden-especially shinobi, they usually use a technique that represses the feel of their chakra. This doesn't stop the natural flow of their chakra, but in fact it just erases the pulse of the energy. With out this feel of the chakra, sensory-nin cant track someone who is hiding, though this leaves them open to other attacks as it takes a lot of energy to hold the technique for any length of time." he paused and then continued. "sadly one such as you, with your… particular disabilities will not be able fully utilize this technique without bringing harm to yourself. But you may be able to track someone better with this new lesson."_

_Lee smiled in readiness. Oh this would be fun._

_**Flashback end.**_

Lee calmly settled into a familiar stance-arms outstretched and legs bent at the knees before he shot off across the training ground. He was moving so fast that he left no footprints on the ground as he practically flew into a small wooded area-he was nearly positive that Ningame was trying to his in a place with more cover. Dogging branches and leaping over tree roots, Lee ran towards a small glade that had a tiny stream going through it.

Stopping unsteadily, Lee looked around in overly wide circles as he tried to clear his equilibrium. Traveling so fast had some consequences such as dizziness, fatigue and a general unbalance. Thus when Gai-sensei taught him the technique, he was told to do so only when he felt it was truly needed as it caused a supreme disadvantage in any battle situation.

Calmly he came to a halt as he noticed the absence of anything living in the area. The ground was covered in still bleeding carcasses of animals and the smell was overpowering his senses. It was a bloodbath and it was sad. Who would kill the animals in the glade, whatever it was it seemed to be gone now but who was to say it wouldn't come back and attack the Konoha shinobi who came to train here. Lee paused and then followed a nefarious odor wafting in from the east, he knew it was going against the tasks set for him but he, at the moment could care less. With a small jog east, he noticed the smell of old blood, rotting meat, and mold was growing stronger the farther he traveled and boy did it reek, if he hadn't conditioned his body in anbu, he probably would've lost his lunch by now or passed out from the fumes alone.

With absolutely no knowledge of what was ahead of him he sped up, he had to find out what was in Konoha and how to get it subdued so they could place it under lock and key. Not only was it his duty as a genin of Konoha to report all mysterious activity to his superiors, but he had to sate his own curiosity before the girls came home.

Thinking about his friends made him falter, how could he even think about rushing in head first without a plan, not only would Hinata cry and more then likely curse him to the deepest layer of hell but Naru would actually kick him where it hurts and then drag him down to the deepest layer f hell. No he couldn't be selfish, his friends meant more to him then being an idiot and better yet a dead idiot. Shuddering at what his friends would do to him if he failed he started running again, more determined then ever to hurry up this little venture.

0-0-0-0-0

One week into Naru, Lee and Hinata's training.

In the jonin lounge, two figures were talking about the newest batch of academy meat that had filtered in as of late. The first jonin was tall and had dark features and his face was pale, chalky white and covered in scars. He was more lean then muscular, but he carried an obvious build and held the calm readiness of someone who could fight for days if the need arose. His partner was a younger man of his late twenties with a extremely skinny body and grey, saggy features. He carried dark bruises under his eyes and the skin seemed to become baggy underneath that as if the muscle lost all of its strength and just dropped. His gave off a uncomfortable aura which made everyone in the immediate vicinity drop dignity and run for cover. Hollow cheeks lead to prominent cheek bones and then to his soulless dead eyes.

The fist man looked around to check as if anyone was near by before speaking in a much softer tone to his younger companion, "have you heard, the Hokage has let some kids graduate early-apparently they showed considerable skill and strength in order to become genin several years early."

The second man simply stared for a moment before speaking in a dead, nasally voice, "Untoku, control yourself. We have been dispatched by him to find those children, so I already know what it is that you have heard, besides it matters not what you have heard but what you are going to do about it to make this mission just a little bit easier for me and the whiney bitch we call teammate." the mans voice became more irritated by the end, no doubt remembering botched missions from the past.

Untoku glared balefully at his sickly looking teammate, what gave him the right to say anything bad about Ioku and him. Wasn't he the one who always screwed up the missions because his bloodlust took control and killed off the ones they were delivering, wasn't it he who always never sat on watch, wasn't it he who always wined when it wasn't going his way. "Kintaro, stop while you are ahead."

Both men scowled and glared at each other, their hatred for the other man shining through as noticeable as the sun at noon before the huffed and continued where they had left off.

Kintaro hated the other man ever since they had been teamed up together when they were young but even he could admit that Untoku was the best at close combat as both he and Ioku were seriously lacking in that area. "Untoku, you will be handling the young girl named Uzumaki Naru. According to my network she has already left for her training somewhere out of fire country, your job is to find out what her purpose is, what skills she has and will acquire and to lastly kidnap her and bring her back to master. Do you think your underdeveloped brain can handle that."

Untoku glared and snarled before he walked out of the lounge to prepare for his journey, leaving Kintaro to prepare for his own mission- to learn about the boy the girls called Rock Lee and take him hostage for his teams master. He only hoped Ioku would be able to handle the ex-Hyuuga heiress, Hinata.

The lounge was empty of all life and if walls could talk they would have screamed warnings to the three children who were on their own-this was the beginning to the end.

0-0-0-0-0

Late at night, somewhere in the forests surrounding Konoha.

Lee considered himself to be a capable shinobi, sadly this did not excuse the fact that he was a boy and only seven in a dark, scary forest that so far showed no signs of life and reeked to high heaven with the smell of death. Yeah not the best place for a developing child who for all intents and purpose should actually be at home trying to sleep. This day had been so bad it deserved one of Naru's patented swear outs and several kicks in the place where the sun don't shine. Lee was tired, hungry, dirty and from being in contact with the disgusting odor all day had given him a smell that caused the hairs in his nose to burn, he wasn't even sure he would be able to ever feel clean even if he took a thousand and one showers.

After about sundown he had resorted to walking because the continues jogging and running would wear him out before he even got to the fight. Sadly he thought tracking would be much easier until he realized that he had chosen the night of the new moon and there for there was no light to be guided by. All he knew was he that whatever he was tracking was close by as the smell had reached any even greater stage. Walking among the dark trees, Lee saw phantom shapes moving around the darkened spectators, it was nerve-wracking and though it freaked him out, he finally realized why most shinobi had extreme paranoia.

While he was walking some sixth sense told him to drop and not one to question instincts did as he was instructed. It was a miracle he managed to survive as something large and rank flew over him. A hollow laughter, even more scary then maniacal laughter, suddenly rang out in the still , stale air. "well, well, well… I'm quite surprised you pursued me this long, Lee-kun. Really you have peeked my interests, what with being unable to do chakra and keep your friends safe from harm…you are really the definition of being a idiot and a failure, hmm Lee-kun."

Lee looked around and saw a young man wearing ugly robes over his body-more then likely to ward off the cold air. Odd, Lee scrunched up his face in concentration_, I never noticed how cold it was. Wasn't it really hot just a minute ago._ shaking off his distracting thoughts, he once again resumed looking over the young man. His nose scrunched up in a attempt to ward off the smell of decay that wafted off the other man, it was so bad Lee was hard pressed to even name the closest thing to the repulsive stink.

He gritted his teeth at the teasing tone of the other man but that wasn't what made him angry-no what made him angry was the little tidbit of information that stated people of like mind were going after Naru and Hinata-chan. A low growl vibrated in his throat as he felt more helpless, how could he even think of fighting when his friends were in danger as well. He quickly rolled to the side as a shadow suddenly attacked him point blank, he gave a yelp of surprise as his right arm seared white hot with pain. Running, after he regained his footing, he hid behind a twisted oak and concentrated on not screaming. Looking down at his arm showed a mangled, bloody form of flesh that hung basically useless at his side. It burned fiercely and he suddenly wondered if what ever hit him had dirty claws, if so he needed to hurry to a hospital and get the wound cleaned, if left untreated it could be cause for amputation.

He listened carefully to the area surrounding him and growled as he soon realized that whatever hit him would be able to smell his blood and pinpoint him, so him sitting and hiding was useless as that man was just toying with him before he made his move.

Getting up, he let his arm fall from his other hand and walked calmly forward, "how do you know who I am, let alone those of my teammates?" he watched as the robed figure materialized out of the shadows, he gave a grim smile, he had went to academy with a arrogant, stuck up asshole-Neji-and had caught on to the guys attitude-he couldn't refuse a challenge once given. If he was lucky somebody would find him before he passed out from blood loss or he died, and would end the fight for him.

Already he was feeling dizzy and nauseas.

The man walked in to the center of the clearing about ten feet away from Lee and grinned, "Lee-kun, what a smart boy you want to be. Sadly it will never happen, as for your question just know that my master and my teammates know who you are and have expressed an interest in all of you kids and your abilities."

Lee felt a rage of epic proportions hit him like a tidal wave. How dare this man and his teammates attempt to kidnap the girls and him, by what right did he think this would work? With a deep cleansing breathe he felt rationality calm the torrent of righteous anger. He knew he needed a calm mind and sound judgment in order to keep his assailant at bay, unfortunately he needed to riel him up first-he had to play the part of a antagonistic, fiery, sarcastic shinobi, so in other words he was going to act like Naru on a good day.

"ha-ha, you are going to capture me and the girls, what a crack. Listen asshole and listen well, nobody is gonna harm my friends or my village, so get this self-righteous notion out of your head and get your head out of your ass and do something…unless your scared." he felt proud at copying Naru's attitude down and even more impressed that his voice hadn't wavered while talking to the man who in all reality wanted to murder him if he was judging the sallow face that burned neon red in the shadows correctly.

0-0-0-0-0

Kintaro had faced death at many turns in his young life and had danced to its alluring tune since he became a shinobi yet there was one thing that set him apart from his comrades- while they feared death for their sins, he reveled in the knowledge that he was the one to kill them. He was abandoned at a young age by his parents who had feared his psychotic tendencies, he was found a year later by the leaf shinobi and was placed in the academy-this was where he met Untoku and Ioku both were also orphans in this harsh world. It was several years after being placed on the same team did all of them meet their master and begin to serve him.

Yes he had been in numerous battles, conquered deaths hand, and managed to remain a Konoha shinobi in the opposition of his treachery and through all of that he never showed his true emotion, never felt the need to release the force that he felt was a waste of human time and brain power. But now, this slip of a boy-child had the nerve to bait him and then flaunt a truly apparent lie in front of him.

He grinned. This boy truly was a gem in the rough, he not only taunted him but his confidence seemed to grow a mile a minute. His grin only seemed to grow, his master would be pleased for some fight in his new students-he just loved making examples.

He still felt pissed though, how was this kid able to get under his skin and even make him feel rage. It was almost…unreal. "Lee-kun, I assure you, I will fight you…just not right now, Jokiu attack the snot-nosed brat but make sure he lives." with that he faded away in to the darkness to watch the impending fight. This would be good.

0-0-0-0-0

Lee felt confused on the basis of the mans cryptic message but he definitely understood who Jokiu was and had no desire to fight the thing that had neatly shredded his arm into mincemeat. He finally was piecing together the information he had gathered and was only mildly shocked when he was right. In front of him, flying low enough to make the repulsive smell waft off its wings, was a bird like form with all the looks of a eagle, with one minor difference-it had the voice of a old women.

It screamed threats to him about what she was going to do once her talons locked on his skinny throat. It had a ragged, screeching voice that looked as sharp as its clawed talons. "so you are the boy who has made my summoned so upset, we'll have to remedy that, now won't we."

A shallow updraft was all he had before he threw himself done on the springy grass, he gasped as his injured arm was thumped painfully beneath his body. The pain made it hard to concentrate, but he some how managed, with a heave that made him want to scream, he rolled his body down a well concealed hill on the side of the clearing closest to him and nearly tore his lips to shreds to match his arm in a attempt to keep quiet.

He finally stopped rolling as he hit the cold water of a small pond, it also shocked him enough to unfreeze his mind so he could think on his escape. He was far away from Konoha, without food, water and shelter. His weapons consisted of a few practice kunai and shuriken, so in other words he was screwed. Up at the top of the hill, Lee had to plug his ears at the screamed curses that flew from the harpy's beaked mouth. Shelter, he decided was the first thing he needed and it had to be well hidden or else his pursuers would find him. Water and food could come later, he just needed to get out of sight and out of mind.

With a pained groan he started heading west, with only the curses of a pissed off bird to keep him company.


	8. Chapter 8

It seemed, to Hinata, as she walked through the gale force winds that running away from camp had been a very stupid idea. Really her father had a point that she really needed to think about her plans before initiating them in action- like the fact that she was in side some place filled with snow, icy winds and a desperate need for spring. _how did this happen to me? Where am I? its so cold and I sense no life in this desolate tundra of ice._ shivering, she snuggled into her clothes- the were so threadbare and destroyed though, this didn't work in the slightest. She thought about how she managed to come to this place and shivered in a way that had nothing to do with the cold air.

_**Flashback.**_

_It had been a nice morning when Hinata had woken up, the leaves where brightly reflecting the sun and best of all the wolf pack had disappeared. Making no doubt that she could feel them watching her. the only new difference though was instead of a hungered aura around them and new, protective aura seemed to have been put into place. With a small smile and giggle, she quickly got up-though it hurt like hell-and proceeded to look at any of the wolves she had slain. There were some drag marks which indicated that the members had already disposed of the carcasses, except for one._

_It was a rather large and muscular male wolf, with dark reddish-brown fur and had a claw like scar going down the length of his right side. Moving sluggishly, Hinata walked over to the frozen body of the predatory animal, who still looked every bit as fierce and powerful in death as in life. With a odd feeling, she looked down at her arm and noticed that that her arm had several large cuts in it and at the end of the longest and deepest one there sat a broken off fang, looking as regal in her skin as a king on his throne. With a grunt that spoke of weariness and exhaustion, she pulled the object out of her ivory skin and contemplated it. Roughly about the size of her middle finger and about two fingers around in width, it shone with a blackened splendor, even as it dripped and mingled with the scarlet contrast of her own blood. Someday she might blame it on the exhaustion and blood loss, but she tore out a long piece of leather fro her pocket-one of the ones medics used to cut of the blood flow before binding a wound, and wove the leather around the fangs broken end and made it into a throng, she reverently put it around her neck and watched as it shifted to lay between her collarbones._

_Looking back done at the wolf, she noticed that he was missing one of his fangs and instantly knew that this was the one to which she had finally broken free from her families hold. Hinata stood in front of the dead body-frozen in a mockery of existence and preservation and bowed her head in prayer and thanks._

_It was thanks to this wolf, that she now felt she could hold her head up proudly in her village. No more did she have to fear her father nor the elders wraths now that she had unlocked her Byakugan, the "white eye" would be her guide through thick and thin. With a nod that symbolized finality, she got down to the gritty part. She was using an ancient practice not commonly used anymore, but one that still had its place in Konoha anbu division. The practice of carrying things of the dead that supposedly carried their experience in them. With a semi-sharp kunai she started to cut open the chest of the wolf, unused to this though, she gagged and felt what little she had eaten start to come back up. It had taken hours and many, many tears and trips behind a tree to finally have the complete pelt of the large wolf. With carefully laden hands, she walked over to the small stream and gently cleaned the blood off the fur and her hands._

_It was the next moment when she let the pelt be covered in the salty banks of the stream to preserve it._

_She looked down at her reflection in the calmly moving waters of the stream and couldn't help her small grimace at the sight she made. The Hyuuga ,known as one of the cleanest clans in Konoha, were naturally taught to oppose the will of dirt and stains, sadly for them, she was now a konoichi of her village and was taught to embrace the fact that she would be-on more then one occasion-come home covered in blood, dirt and unidentifiable. _

_With a ragged sigh of frustration, Hinata rolled up the ends of her tattered sleeves and started to wash her face in the cold water of the stream. Just as she was finishing a odd whistling sound cut through the air and only by luck did she manage to drop into the freezing water in time. A hollow thunk hit a tree in front of her, looking up she noticed a kunai that dripped with a whitish-oil like substance. She blanched as the oily acid ate at the weathered bark of the tree before turning around to face Ioku. The crazed women looked no better then she did, with leaves and twigs caught in her once smooth hair, scratches also littered her face-evidence that she had used the trees to get here. Her body seemed thinner and she seemed to be laboring for breathe. Hinata, being the compassionate person her family loathed, felt the twinges of pity for the insane women who wanted her dead._

_Ioku snarled at the girl before lunging out of the tall pine-words seemed to have abandoned the elder women as she attacked like a wounded animal. Hinata ducked and slapped out with her smaller hands, with a desperation she activated her Byakugan-not even pausing when she used no hand signs to do this task- and went on the offensive, slapping out at Ioku's chakra points. 'Neji-san always made this look easy' she grumbled in her mind as one of the acid coated kunai sliced opened a wound on her chest, it stung and gave off a smell of burning flesh. Resisting the urge to gag, Hinata kept moving further back towards the shelter of the deep forest in an effort to get away from the Ioku. _

_As she was moving back, Ioku pressed forward, wanting-no needing to feel the last heartbeat of her victim, she wanted to tear the pretty girl into pieces and reassemble her in a new visage-her own deadly masterpiece. She wanted to watch the light leave those white eyes as one of her acid covered kunai cut the timid little mouse's throat, baring her forward into hell. But first, she would take little Hinata to her master and watch as she had everything she learned and kept true taken from her until she was truly desperate for death that she begged…only then would Ioku's hate be dissolved._

_Hinata watched as the mad light in her enemy's eyes consume her and in error forgot to watch where she was going and promptly fell on her back, the terror grew when she felt Ioku lift her arm up high-a kunai poised to plunge into her rapidly beating heart, before a brilliant plume of grayish-white smoke surrounded her and a tug, thrust her into darkness._

_She woke up to the frozen land and set out on her journey to find out what happened._

_**Flashback end.**_

Hinata shivered as she remembered Ioku and her vendetta against her. She hissed as her wound stung with growing alacrity and felt nauseas and disoriented. It was only a matter of time before she fell asleep out here and when that happened she knew she would never wake. What was worse though, was the fact that she wore no sandals and already her feat where turning a unhealthy blue. The pain in her body sapped the energy she desperately needed to heal it and with out a doubt knew she was so very alone-even seeing Ioku would have been better than walking around half dead in the middle of nowhere.

As she was walking, she tripped over a tree root half buried in the deep snow and fell to her stomach. Hinata groaned as her tired body refused to get back up, she strained her eyes forward and seemed to notice a shadow getting closer, _may…be…Ioku has fina…lly found me…._ with that one last tired thought, she welcomed the thick blackness.

0-0-0-0-0

One figure watched as the small girl slowly made her way across the frozen land and contemplated on how she had gotten here, as far as he knew, no mortal people who had not signed the contract could come here. Shrugging his soft black fur covered shoulders, he bolted closer to the small child and instantly grew frightened when she fell over one of the hidden tree roots. Getting closer he realized that the small girl with white eyes was still slightly conscious but the moment he was beside her, she had already passed out.

He felt conflicted. Nobody had ever truly prepared him for this and to be completely honest, he felt way out of his element. With a cautious look around, he gently picked up the small girl and placed her on his back before he turned and ran in the opposite direction from the one Hinata had traveled from.

The elders would get the answers from her, one way or another.

0-0-0-0-0

The first thing Hinata noticed when she returned to consciousness was that it was warm and dry. The second thing she noticed was that she had no idea where she was at.

Opening her eyes, she met a dark room that smelled of juniper and lilacs, it was a calming smell and did help her to un-tense her body-which had begun to stiffen up in anticipation for a fight. Looking down, Hinata saw that her wounds had been bound tightly with linen wraps and her torn and dirty clothes had been removed, instead she was wearing a clean, crisp dark grey nightgown that went to her feet. Feeling sluggish, she stumbled out of the comfortable bed and walked around the dark room trying to find a light or a door-whichever came first. When she felt that she had traversed the whole of the room, she quietly returned to the bed and sat down going over what she had learned- first, she was in unknown territory, second, she was stuck in a room with no doors or windows and third, someone had to be checking up on her if she could go by the new outfit and medical treatment to her person. With that in mind she sat and waited, sooner or later someone would come by and then she would finally get some answers.

Hinata didn't have to wait long, in fact it was only about thirty minutes before she noticed a smooth rumbling that seemed to be coming from the farthest wall from her bed. Intent on watching the wall, Hinata had unconsciously activated her Byakugan and was unprepared for the sudden fiery pain that erupted in them after a door had opened in the wall bringing a bright light with it. She did feel the breathe leave her lungs at the intense pain and instinctively knew would have a killer headache after this. Closing her eyes, she felt the raid pulsing of the veins going to her eyes and felt green at the notion that she might have just gone blind.

So in her own musings, Hinata jumped at the unexpected contact of someone touching her face. "doncha worry young'un, jus' keep ya peepers closed ya hear. Now let ma take a looksi, hm, ya have a little damage done to ya young'un." Hinata relaxed at the warm and aged feminine voice that cut through the haziness of her pain, though her worry that she was blind continued on un-heeded. She tried to remain calm but every time she attempted to not think about her dilemma her mind instantly conjured up the image of Hyuuga Hino- a branch house member who was assigned border patrol. She remembered all of the details even though she had been so young at the time. Hyuuga Hino had been seventeen years old when he became a jonin and was assigned a tour of one year border patrol. Of course being a Hyuuga he was obligated to fulfill this particular task, unfortunately he had only been on the job for several months before his team had been ambushed by a group of rogue shinobi. The fight had lasted two days and the outcome was worse-Hino had become blind when one of the other shinobi pulled out a high intensity flash bomb when Hino had activated his Byakugan rendering him blind. She cringed as she recalled the exchange between her father with the elders and Hino.

_**Flashback.**_

_A little Hinata watched as her father and the 'scary' elders walked into a room, closing the door behind them. She was a naturally curious child as most children were and thought nothing of it when she stared to follow her betters around the medical wing of the Hyuuga compound, she was going to find out what was making her family members act so strange._

_With a measure of stealth that usually was acquired of a join level shinobi on a high level mission, Hinata walked up to the door. It was nothing to hoot at-plain brown wood, with brass handles. The only thing of interest was some weird looking symbol on the door, it was mode up of some kanji and was connected with a spiral in the middle. Shrugging her small, thin shoulders she looked up at the door handle and hesitated before reaching up. What if she opened up the door and the elders noticed that she was there or worse what if her father saw that she had followed him. Feeling nervous but not knowing why nor having the adult attention span to think about it for a lengthy period of time, she reached up for the handle and gave it a slow turn and cringed when it gave a almost unnoticeable creak that sounded exceptionally loud to her ears. With a courage she suddenly didn't feel, Hinata peered through the crack in the door._

_The room was filled with several people-her father, the elders and lastly Hyuuga Hino, who was laying on a crisp, white hospital bed. The room was locked in a uncomfortable silence that only her father and Hino seemed to notice, the elders though, looked as happy as a spoiled child on Christmas. Their white eyes slowly roamed the bedridden young Hyuuga, and though he couldn't see them, Hino stiffened up and tried to retain his nonchalant aura. _

_Hinata watched as her father gained a pained look and turned away from the blind young man. One of the elders, a man known as Hyuuga Hanato, casually walked up to Hino-the walk reminded Hinata of a lion who had stalked his prey into submission and said, "Hyuuga Hino…how do you feel?" to her young years, Hinata couldn't understand why both her father and Hino flinched at the seemingly simple question. Hino looked uncomfortable but simply nodded in the general direction of his better. "good, very good. We of the Hyuuga clan wish to extend our sympathies and our general condolences to your…situation. Truly we will never have another of your skills, truly a shame."_

_Hinata along with Hino both stared at the elder. What did he mean by that, what was going on here. Hino shot straight up and nearly yelled. "wait, Hanato-sama, what do you mean. surly with some special training I will be able to fight and be a ninja of Konoha and a asset to the clan." Hinata shivered at the sudden grin that formed on Hanato's face as he listened to the younger Hyuuga's claims, it showed clearly that he was enjoying the boys unease and fright. "oh, my dear boy, it just isn't that simple…you see, you have lost your sight and now will never be able to access the Byakugan again…in turn you have lost your usefulness to us and the clan." Hinata watched as Hanato turned around to talk to his fellow elders, "get him ready for his last treatment and then bring him to the 'chambers', I will personally see to this…development." with that the elders used some type of justu that made them disappear in a puff of smoke. In an instant it was just her, her father and Hino. Hinata watched as her father walked over to the distraught young man and laid his hand on his shoulder before using the same justu as the elders to leave._

_Hinata ran away as the place became to sad to stay any longer. The next day life continued as always and she never saw Hyuuga Hino again._

_**Flashback end.**_

She refused to acknowledge the fact that she no longer belonged to the Hyuuga clan and thus would not suffer the same fate as Hino had, because she was already disowned and banished. "jus' open your eyes young'un _, _doncha be a feared of the possibility child, jus' open ya pretty eyes." with the sound of that same warm voice, she turned into the odd embrace, and slowly opened her eyes.

The room was blurred but-to Hinata's relief- it was the type of blurring one gets when they have clenched their eyes closed too tightly, with a sigh of relief the ex-heiress turned towards her companion and promptly screamed. "A MOUSE." the large "mouse" was about the size of a horse and covered in creamy grey fur, with large black eyes and a adorable pink nose. Hinata felt her heart pounding against her chest as the mouse leaned away from her loud shriek, its fluffy ears angled down to filter the noise away from it. "child ya don't need to yell." still freaked out, Hinata couldn't get her thought to focus correctly or else she would have smacked herself silly trying to be kind. "who are you ms…"

The mouse smiled, which puffed out the cheeks of her fuzzy face before answering. "my names Kimoko, and you be…?" it was Hinata's turn to smile. "I am Hyuuga Hinata, though I feel I have lost that right to my last name." Kimoko gave the girl a confused glance, before she was motioned to sit by Hinata as she was told the story of what have happened in the past months-everything from her best friends to the banishment of her from her family and lastly to ending up here after her attack by Ioku.

Hinata felt drained as she finished her story. It felt odd to be talking with someone who was not one of friends-though maybe if she learned more about the strange mouse, she might consider being friends with her. The atmosphere had turned silent as both parties considered the other, Kimoko, being older suddenly felt protective of the young girl. It wasn't Hinata's fault that the council members were corrupt to the point that they would willingly get rid of their biggest ally and Kimoko had no doubt that this child would become just that._ well, their loss and our find. One day though Hinata, they will find out how strong you will become and do everything in their powers to sway you away from your friends-never forget what they have done to you but don't let it rule your life._ with a gentle smile, Kimoko stood up and grabbed the girl and quietly motioned for her to follow.

Hinata felt the pull on her arm as Kimoko dragged her out into a hallway. The walls were decorated in beautiful tribal-like drawings that showed the life's' of countless mice and the seasons, above those, wall sconces held giant candles made of a sweet smelling wax that-surprisingly-gave off no smoke. Looking up at the ceiling, Hinata saw that it had been painted by a masters hand in the visage of a pale winter sky, with the viewpoint being painted as if the painter had been standing from the ground. With each new bend in the hall, Hinata gasped in shy delight at the wonder of Kimoko's home, nothing could compare to the sheer comfort that oozed from the atmosphere itself. But in her heart she knew it would never truly compare to the warmth and familiarity of her new home, she stopped when something wet rolled down her cheek-Hinata knew it was a tear but refused to draw attention to the fact that she missed Konoha and her friends.

"Hinata, what's taking ya so long, we must hurry if ya want to make it on time." Kimoko laughed silently as the small child hurried to catch up.

Panting a little, Hinata placed her hands on her knees and coughed when she inhaled too fast. "Kimoko…who are…we going to visit?" she felt a burning curiosity and mentally winced as she felt a deep sympathy for Naru and Lee, both of whom were naturally curios. A small smile was the only answer she got as Kimoko started to walk faster.

Hinata was deeply surprised by the sheer number of the halls that they walked through, it was the veritable claim to a well thought out plan. One main hallway branched out into several sub-hallways and from there those sub-hallways divided in many smaller halls that led anywhere from homes to small gardens to emergency exits. Truly these mice knew how to be prepared and they have no qualms about showing it.

Kimoko tugged on Hinata's arm in an attempt to pull the shy girl from her thoughts and grinned when she saw her face, all alight in suppressed wonder.

Two giant double doors blocked the females from going any further. They were heavy looking and appeared to have been made of some dull metal, with the hinges made up of a sparkling stone. Weird looking writing covered the whole expanse of the doors along with some more primitive looking pictures near the handles. Hinata noticed that some of these pictures didn't just have mice, but also people. They seemed to be accepting a gift-a huge scroll with a mouse profile burned into the thick paper, it seemed like a happy day to the parties of both mice and man, but Hinata sensed a melancholic sadness dwelling just beneath the carved grins on their cold, metal faces.

Without a word the large doors swung open from the inside, balancing on well oiled hinges with nary a sound. With a general nod at Kimoko, Hinata was ushered inside and didn't look back as the door closed behind her.

0-0-0-0-0

Hinata controlled her face as she was lead into a giant room. It was bare except for a few wall hangings and some several rows of hard oak seats. At the very end of the room, a long half circle desk reigned with several ancient looking mice behind it, all had their dark eyes on Kimoko and herself.

Within seconds they had crossed the grand space of the room and were ordered to kneel before the great council. It may have been minutes, but to Hinata it felt like hours before the council deemed the appropriate time fore questioning.

With a barely noticed nod, a grand ,white furred mouse stood from his seat and motioned for some guards-they must have come from behind when the door was opened- and looked down to the younger mouse. "Kimoko! Your work is done, follow the guards out and wait for this meeting to be done." with a rigid nod back to the mouse leader, she afford up one small smile to Hinata before she was led away. Once the doors closed again, the whole of the council turned back and started to regard the young girl. As they talked amongst themselves, Hinata realized that Kimoko spoke in a very different way then these mice-in a rustic dialect, then the uptight and cultured one that reminded her of the Hyuuga clan.

Her attention was torn when the council suddenly fire off question after question.

"what is your name?!" the leader narrowed his eyes when he talked to her.

"my name is Hyuuga Hinata, from the clan Hyuuga of Konoha."

"what is your purpose for intruding on our realm?!"

"I did not mean to intrude, if you kindly tell me where I am I could tell you more." the council ignored her.

"who sent you here? Are you a spy? You have no summoning to your name, tell all you know!" the questioning went for hours, one right after another and no matter how many she answered, Hinata knew they were unsatisfied.

She knew not how long she had kneeled before the council, nor did she even care, not anymore. Hinata clenched her teeth at the arrogance of those mice as they bickered and squabbled to decide her fate-do they let her go or do they kill her to preserve their own semblance of balance.

_it is odd. All I ever wanted was to be recognized as a good person, one who was beautiful like mother and strong like father, but now I am in a political debate and I don't even know if I will survive._ Hinata felt her eyes sting but refused to let any tears fall. she opened her eyes and made a vow as she watched the elders fight amongst themselves, she would never be weak again, she would survive this silent war, fight off Ioku and then return home to her best friends and then they would become a team. This was her promise to herself and she would never break it.


End file.
